Fire Mated
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Finished. AU. It's Duo's 18th birthday and his world is suddenly turned upside down. What is the strange force taking over his body? What does Quatre know? And who is Heero Yuy? Yaoi.
1. Default Chapter

Title: Fire Mated  
Series: Gundam Wing  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Rating: PG so far…  
Pairing: 1x2x1  
Warnings: angst! Just not yet.  
Spoilers: No chance!  
Archive: Fanfiction.net  
  
Author's note: This fic pulls a small amount of inspiration from the story of Ayashi No Ceres by Yu Watase. However, this is not a fusion, and don't expect to find many similarities, just a few common circumstances. And I apologize but it will take a while for Heero to show up, don't worry though. All will be explained :)  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"Quatre Rabera Winner?"  
  
A young blond boy looked up from his thick volume and flashed a small smile at the girl standing before him. Nodding to her he closed his book and stood up. "Actually, just Quatre is fine."  
  
The girl favored him with a bright smile and ran a hand through her short orangish hair. "Marimeia. I'm supposed to give you the tour. Do you have your schedule?"  
  
He nodded and handed her a piece of paper. Her blue eyes moved over the sheet of paper as he looked at her.  
  
Marimeia stood shorter then him, but he was guessing they were in the same class. She had her orange-tinted hair cut closely around her head and wore an outfit of green and gray, adding to the dullness of her eyes yet making them stand out. Her mannerisms spoke of a girl well educated for her age yet social to a point that no one would have noticed she was a bookworm. By Quatre knew the type, he was one himself. He smiled at her as she nodded and handed the sheet back to him.  
  
"Looks like the first place you need to go is the library; pick up your books and stuff. Come on, I'll show you where." Swinging her backpack over one shoulder she led him out of the office and out onto the schoolyard, crossing to the building on the other side which served as both the library and the bookstore.  
  
The school itself was pretty large, as far as high schools go. Most high schools are only one large building, where new floors and wings are added on as the student population grew. This high school, on the other hand, had grown so fast they were required to build a few different smaller buildings, not to mention that restriction of land space required them to be creative with what property they had. As a result the library and the cafeteria were both in separate buildings, creating a triangular school ground surrounded by high brick and evergreen fences.  
  
Despite the apparent lack of space for growth the high school was quite popular and seen as one of the best in the state, which might explain why it wasn't actually a public school and students were required to pay. A private high school that wasn't attached to any religion in particular, but rather just a prestigious place for students to study.  
  
Quatre hurried after Marimeia's quick steps, following her over the amazingly well kept school grounds. All around him students, well dressed for their age despite no requirement for uniforms, talked quietly amongst themselves as they walked to class or sat together in small groups. Quatre's eyes scanned the students, learning what he could about all of them in a single glance. He really wanted to fit in at this school and avoid being labeled as the weirdo, as much as he knew it would happen. It always did, sooner or later.  
  
His eyes settled on one couple in particular, resting under a large oak tree. Both were boys and both seemed to know each other very well. One had short brown hair that fell forward to hide half his face as he read the thin book in his hands. Meanwhile, the other boy sat very close to him, practically sitting in his lap, with a content smile on his face. He seemed to be reading the book as well, while one hand clasped happily in the other boy's free hand.   
  
Quatre stopped and his jaw dropped. Up ahead of him Marimeia turned and tossed him a confused look.   
  
He couldn't help it; the words just came out before he could stop them. "Those two are…"  
  
Marimeia giggled. "The happiest couple on campus." She said, her voice holding a slight tone of warning.  
  
Quatre's face reddened and he shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that, I wasn't going to criticize them, I just… not used to couples like that being so open."  
  
She nodded in understanding. "You came from a small town?"  
  
"Rich family, same thing. You were straight or you were disowned."  
  
Marimeia raised her eyebrow. "You talk like it used to be a problem."  
  
He shrugged. "I'm the only son my father has, legally heir to his money. He kind of didn't have a choice to accept my personal tastes." Among other things, he added to himself, silently.  
  
At that the girl sighed and the two began walking again.  
  
"Something wrong?" Quatre asked, catching up with her.  
  
"Yeah, you guys. All the good ones are gay."  
  
Quatre laughed. "You're assuming I'm gay."  
  
"Aren't you?" She asked, pushing open the door.  
  
"Nope, bi."  
  
She treated him to a bright smile. "Great, then you won't take offense to me asking you out to lunch then."  
  
Quatre smiled back. "I would be delighted."  
  
**  
  
Quatre arrived home much later that day, climbing wearily up the stairs to his dorm room. He never thought actual high school would be so tiring on the first day. Having grown up in a rich family with a large amount of sisters and servants around the house his father had just found it more inexpensive to hire teachers for them to be home schooled. Studying with his sisters was just like being in school, or so he had thought, but now he wasn't so sure. Instead he learned that being in an actual class with completely foreign faces was one of the most stressful things he could ever live through. And he was certainly beginning to see the truth in all his fantasy books where the characters hated school and skipped it whenever possible.  
  
His dorm room wasn't actually a dorm. But rather a large attic rented out by the owners of the house. The majority of the surrounding town rented out rooms in their homes to the students for the high school, it was an easy way to make money and it provided the students with a cheap place to live during the school year. Not to mention that it gave the older couples children to spoil again since theirs had already gone through school and moved out on their own.  
  
Quatre, himself, lived with a kindly old woman who used to be a doctor. She now lived by herself, her husband having passed away many years before. Since his death, so she told him, she'd taken to renting out her rooms to students purely for the fact that she loved noise in the house. And true to rumors of the old couples she did spoil Quatre by getting up early to make breakfast every morning and making dinner every night. It hadn't even taken a day for him to feel at home in the house, despite her being a total stranger and this being the first time he was living so far from his family.  
  
Dropping his bag of new textbooks on his bed he unfastened his jacket and fell back on the bed, sighing loudly. A long day with students and he still had homework to finish, not to mention the original reason he'd moved to this town, but that could be held off for a little while. Rubbing his eyes he rolled over and pulled his fantasy book out of his bag and opened to the last chapter, planning on finishing it before he tackled his homework assignments.  
  
A knock sounded on his door and he didn't even bother to look up, knowing that only one person would be knocking on his door. "You can come in!" He called out, turning to the next page.  
  
The door opened and the old woman that owned the house stepped in, an amused look on her face as she crossed her arms.  
  
"And the little book worm is at it again," she said in a good-natured tone.  
  
Quatre nodded and looked up. "Just wanted to finish the chapter before my homework and dinner."  
  
She laughed and walked over to the bed. "You remind me of me when I was younger, always a nose in a book. Here, I found something for you." Taking a crumpled thin volume out of her pocket she handed it to him. Quatre sat up on the bed and set down his own book, taking a moment to examine the one she gave him.  
  
"It's a little worn, sorry about that. But I've read it so many times it couldn't be helped. It's not technically a published book but the story seems to run down your alley, the fantasy type. I thought you might enjoy it. And don't be deceived by its size, it's quite a good read."  
  
Quatre smiled. "Thanks…" his words fell away as he noticed the name of the author. "Heero… Yuy?" He blinked, making sure he'd read that right and his spirits soared, this was perfect! Almost too perfect to be true!  
  
"Yep, the boy's pen name." The woman stood up and wiped off her apron. "Well, dinner will be ready in about an hour, I'll leave you to your homework then."  
  
"Thanks a lot, I'll be sure to be careful with it." Quatre said, paging carefully through the worn pages.  
  
"Just make sure you don't forget the books for your classes, that one is real addictive and I don't want my favorite story to be responsible for you getting bad grades, you hear?"  
  
Quatre flashed her an innocent smile. "Yes ma'am."  
  
He watched her leave the room then set the book down. Jumping up from the bed he raced over to his chest of yet unpacked things and began digging under the clothes and other books he planned on reading. Finally he came upon a thick notebook full of folded sheets of paper. Sitting back he thumbed through them, carefully scanning the neatly written words. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for.   
  
"I was right!"  
  
On the bottom of the sheet of paper, written in neat letters, was the name Heero Yuy, exactly the same as the one on the book. Smiling happily to himself he felt the urge to jump for joy. Who would have known that he would receive a clue this big so early! He realized it was just a name and not something to get really excited over, but he couldn't help it. He knew this was a big clue and maybe this strange little search wasn't as strange as it had seemed.   
  
Placing the folder back in the chest Quatre raced down the stairs to help the old woman with dinner. He was in too much of a jumpy mood to read now.  
  
**  
  
"Trowa, lemme see, you know I hate walking around like this!"  
  
Trowa snickered softly and shook his head, even though he knew Duo couldn't see his expression. "Just a little bit farther, now keep your eyes closed while I unlock the door. No peeking Duo."  
  
The braided boy sighed in defeat as Trowa pulled one hand from over his eyes to unlock the door. "Fine, I'm not peeking."  
  
Trowa smiled and unlocked the door, pushing it open and quickly returning his hands to cover Duo's eyes. Carefully he urged the boy to move forward into the room.   
  
"I'm gonna trip over your feet if you are any slower. You know this is killing me! Lemme see!"  
  
"Fine," Trowa stopped him in the middle of the room. "You can look now."  
  
Trowa pulled away his hands and took a step back as Duo opened his eyes and looked around. He watched as the braided boy's face lit up with excitement upon seeing the gift.  
  
The room around them was dim, lit by a single light above. But sitting out on the table before them lay a magnificently crafted chess board made of shiny carved wood pieces. Each piece was an individual mythical creature, standing on a platform of finely cut flowers. Kings fashioned of dragons and seraphs ruled over pawns of centaurs, pwcas and fae. Each holding their own unique weapon or surrounded by their own element as they poised to march into battle. Trowa watched as Duo walked slowly up to the table and just stood there staring.  
  
"You like?" He asked quietly. Duo's quietness made him nervous. He was so used to the boy being talkative and active, being silent either meant he loved the gift or he hated it. Trowa couldn't tell which it was.  
  
"Like it…" Duo's voice came out in a whisper as he leaned forward, timidly picking up one of the pieces to turn it over in his hands. He treated the piece as if it were made of glass; afraid it would break from breathing on it. "Trowa, I've never seen anything like this!"  
  
Trowa smiled as Duo set the piece down and practically tackled him. The cheery boy wrapped his arms around Trowa's waste and hugged him tightly, resting his head on the taller boy's shoulder. Trowa ran a soft hand over Duo's smooth braid. "Thank you!"  
  
"Happy birthday, Duo." He murmured.  
  
Duo smiled happily. "Want to play a game?"  
  
Trowa nodded and the two pulled apart to sit across from each other on the table. Trowa took the side with the dark king dragon while Duo chose the one with the birch wood seraph. Duo picked up one of his pawns and took a moment to examine the piece in the dim light then moved it ahead one space, signaling the start of the game.  
  
Both played the chess game well into the night, taking turns winning and losing pretty equally. Each time Duo made a move he would pick up the piece and study it in the dim light, committing the amazingly detailed design to memory, then place it back on the board in play. He loved every piece, and even though he picked them up multiple times he also found some new detail to catch his attention and stare at.  
  
He couldn't believe Trowa had found something so beautiful for him, and couldn't only imagine how much the entire set had actually cost. Heck, chessboards with just plain plastic pieces were expensive as it was, but this one… this one had to have cut quite a large hole in his checkbook. But then Trowa had never been squeamish about spending money on him, and though he felt spoiled he loved it.   
  
Duo yawned and moved his bishop, the figurine of a salamander curled atop a rock surrounded by scorched grass and plants. "Checkmate." He proclaimed in a happy, but tired voice.  
  
Trowa knocked his king down, the long Chinese dragon landing on the board with what few pieces he had left. Leaning back in his chair he stretched and gave a small yawn of his own.   
  
"Up for another game?" Duo joked, already setting the pieces back in their spots.  
  
He shook his head. "No, I doubt I could stay up for it, and neither could you. You've barely kept your eyes open for the last half hour."  
  
Duo snickered and placed the last pieces where they belonged. "I think you just don't want to be beaten again."  
  
Trowa raised an amused eyebrow. "Oh really? Come on, bed, we still have class tomorrow."  
  
Duo relented and stood up, following Trowa to the bedroom which they shared. Duo and Trowa had been sharing a room for as long as they could remember, practically since the first day they'd met. It wasn't because they were lovers but more that they were as close as two friends could get. Due to the untimely death of Duo's parents he'd been raised by Trowa's family in his house and the two were practically brothers.   
  
Despite the popular opinion around school they weren't a couple, just good friends. Though, Duo had to admit that the rumors certainly had enough ground to stand on. After all, Trowa's parents were always away on some business trip and they usually lived in the house alone. Trowa spoiled him rotten with gifts much like the chess set, treating him to a lot of things, but then again Duo didn't have a family and no source of income so there was no way he could spoil Trowa back, though he knew he would if he could. And then, of course, there were the brotherly hugs and small kisses that Trowa usually placed on Duo's cheeks, but he never questioned those. After all, he'd grown up without his real parents, he had no idea that brothers didn't usually act like that. Trowa was just an affectionate sibling to him.  
  
Duo shed of his clothes and climbed into the bed which lay next to Trowa's, separated by a small night table. Curling into the covers he murmured a soft goodnight to Trowa, then rolled on his back and closed his eyes.  
  
The transition was strange, almost like a person blinking, his eyes closing on one world only to open and find himself standing a complete new one. Duo's mind slipped into the dream state a little too easily and instead of lying in bed listening to Trowa get ready for bed he found himself standing in an old cabin made of roughly cut wood with a low ceiling.  
  
He was standing, the smell of pine hard and strong in his nose. Turning around he found the cabin to be nearly empty save for a cot in the corner, a fire pit in the center and a jumbled heap of well-used tools in the other corner. The floor was made merely of packed dirt and the smell of smoke drifted through the cabin, from outside.  
  
Stepping lightly he exited the cabin into the clearing outside to find himself practically in the middle of a forest, a beaten path leading between the trees but otherwise no other sign of life. Turning he gazed at the outside of the cabin in wonder. The outside was just as roughly cut as the inside, speaking of hours of hard labor and sweat, but in the end the cabin stood sturdy, a good protection from unpredictable elements.  
  
"Hello?" He called out, his voice sounding quiet in the thickness of the trees.  
  
A sound behind him and he spun around to face it. He found a large rock had appeared behind him, with a brightly colored lizard curled on its top. The lizard was actually like a large lizard, its long tongue flicking out silently in the moonlight. Its bright eyes met with Duo's and it lifted its head, looking past Duo at the cabin. Turning back to the cabin it was strange… he held his breath as he watched the entire scene flash into shades of deep blue then turn back into normal. It was almost as if a pair of bright blue eyes appeared before him and blinked, then were gone. And now there was movement inside the cabin…  
  
Racing back inside he found a person lying quietly on the cot, sleeping rolled up tightly in a blanket made of animal furs. The world around him flashed again; this time with a bright red and the smell of smoke in the air grew stronger. Looking out the window he watched as the lizard uncurled itself from the rock and opened its mouth, flames flying out to hit the cabin. Duo's throat clenched in fear.  
  
"Wake up," Duo choked before he knew what he was doing. His mind was panicking, yelling at him to get out of the house and forget about the boy, but he couldn't. He couldn't just leave the other boy there!  
  
"Wake up," he said louder.  
  
The figure stirred but didn't wake up.  
  
There was a loud crack outside and the world around him exploded into flames, punctuated by one of the ceiling supports crashing down into the middle of the cabin. Duo dived out of the way and practically landed on the boy, who still wouldn't wake up. Smoke grew thick around him as flames began to lick at the edges of the windows. He could barely see in front of his nose.  
  
"Wake up!" He coughed, shaking the boy harshly, but still the boy wouldn't move.  
  
"You're going to die in here if you don't wake up! Please!!"  
  
Another crack above him and Duo watched the ceiling above him sag, bits of flame falling near him with pieces of wood. Standing up he raced to the door as the heat surrounded him. He forgot about the boy and searched desperately in the thick smoke for the door… but no, he couldn't find it! He screamed and pounded on the walls, his mind in complete panic mode as he searched for the door.   
  
Where was it?  
  
Flames burst up in front of him and he jumped back, his body shaking in terror.  
  
No! Not fire, not now. Not again!  
  
"Let me out! Someone help!"  
  
I'm burning again! I'm going to burn to death just like they did, just like they did before! I'm going to die!  
  
"Help!"  
  
No! I don't want to die like that! Not like them!  
  
"TROWA!"  
  
**  
  
Trowa bolted up in bed at the sound of his name being called and raced over to Duo's bed. He found the boy tangled in his covers, struggling and coughing as he clawed at the thin air above him. His eyes were shut and he was obviously still dreaming but he was screaming hysterically, calling out for help.  
  
Trowa dropped down next to him and wrapped his arms around the boy, wincing as Duo's nails racked hard across his skin, leaving long angry marks. Still, he held the boy tight, trying to calm him down. Once he had a good hold on him, restraining Duo's mad movements he shook him harshly, yelling his own name back at him. But it didn't seem to work. Duo seemed to be completely lost in his nightmare, still screaming and coughing like he was being choked. Finally Trowa took the last resort and slapped Duo across the face, hard.   
  
Duo's eyes snapped open and he took a breath so quick he ended up choking on it, doubling over in Trowa's arms as he coughed painfully. The coughing eventually stopped and he sat there in Trowa's arms, shivering and clutching him tightly as tears slipped down his face. Small hoarse whimpers came from his throat and Trowa responded only by holding him quietly and rubbing his back in a comforting motion.  
  
"Nightmare?" He whispered softly.  
  
Duo nodded, a shudder flowing over his body. "I was burning."  
  
Trowa's embrace stiffened for a moment and his eyes widened, then he hugged Duo tighter. "You're not burning anymore, Duo. You're safe."  
  
Duo sniffled and shook his head. "Gods… Trowa it was so real."  
  
"Shhh."  
  
It took a while but Duo finally seemed to relax in Trowa's arms. Trowa just sat there, rocking slightly as he held Duo, murmuring words of comfort and holding him tight. This had happened many times before, ever since Duo's parents had died, and he knew what to do in order to get Duo to calm down and fall back asleep. So he murmured softly until he felt Duo relax completely in his arms and heard his sharp breaths even out. Soon Duo was sleeping again in his arms.  
  
Frowning Trowa slipped out of the embrace and tucked Duo back into bed, then returned to his own. He spent the next few hours just watching the boy quietly in the dark room. While he was sleeping and not being attacked by nightmares Duo looked like an angel.  
  
But that wasn't what Trowa was thinking about. Instead he was worried. It had been a long time since Duo had had one of his violent nightmares, almost a year. And even then they hadn't been nearly this bad. Usually it was just him crying out, not like tonight. Tonight, if Trowa hadn't known better, he would have said that Duo was trapped in the dream and wasn't able to get out until he slapped him.  
  
It bugged him that the nightmare had been so strong. And on the night of Duo's birthday no less.  
  
Why this?  
  
Why now?  
  
** 


	2. part 2

Chapter 2  
  
"Duo?"  
  
Duo peeked his head out from the bathroom, his fingers tangled in the long strands as he stopped in the middle of braiding his long hair. Grinning he glanced at Trowa who was sitting up groggily in bed.  
  
"Wake up, lazy bones, you're going to be late otherwise."  
  
Trowa frowned and bushed his bangs out of his face, searching blindly for the clock next to his bed. "I overslept again?"  
  
"Nope, but your alarm is about to go off right… about… now."  
  
Trowa groaned as the alarm started beeping, right after Duo said it would. Hitting it hard he rolled over in bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, listening to the sounds of Duo moving around in the bathroom. Why was he this tired? He'd gotten a full night's sleep, had he-  
  
Trowa's eyes shot open and he sat up, pushing away the covers and glancing at his arm. Sure enough his arm had five long red lines, scratched into the skin. Rubbing them lightly he glanced back to the bathroom as Duo stepped out, humming lightly to himself as he dug through his dresser and pulled on a pair of jeans over the boxers he was wearing.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"Hm?" Duo didn't look up as he began searching for a shirt.  
  
"You ok?"  
  
This time Duo blinked and glanced back at him in confusion. "Yeah, course. Why? Something wrong?"  
  
Trowa shook his head and hid the scratches with his hand as he stood up and headed for the bathroom. No, if Duo didn't remember the nightmare he wasn't about to ruin the boy's day by telling him about it. Duo seemed his normal cheerful self this morning and Trowa refused to ruin that, so he let the subject drop. Instead he went about getting ready for classes and risking a short shower.  
  
He was brushing his hair as he heard Duo run back into the room, a piece of toast hanging out of the side of his mouth as he searched for his socks under his bed. "I'm gonna head in early, wanted to stop by the library this morning." Duo said, masterfully holding the toast in his mouth. "So you get to walk in by yourself."  
  
"All right."  
  
Duo struggled on his last sock and munched away the piece of toast then rushed out the door, yelling a farewell behind him. Trowa just stepped out of the bathroom and stood there, staring at their beds.  
  
He sighed softly. He could remember the last time Duo had had one of his terrifying dreams. He'd ended up rolling onto the floor, practically smothering himself in his blankets as he thrashed back and forth, letting out small whimpers of fear and pain. Trowa had freed him from the blankets and comforted him for most of the night until he finally calmed down again.   
  
He knew what the dreams were about, though Duo never really told him. The only fact Duo had confirmed was that he always burned in his dreams, which made sense. Duo's parents had died in a house fire, trapped in the basement while Duo pounded on the door trying to get them out. He'd been so young at the time…  
  
Trowa's father was a firefighter at the local department at the time and had just happened to pass by the house when it caught fire. They later found out that the fire was caused by a poorly cleaned out chimney, causing the fireplace to catch fire along with the room surrounding it. Due to the amount of time it took for the fire fighters to reach the house they were only able to save Duo. Duo's father had died in the blaze; his mother making it to the hospital only to die a few hours later of severe burns. In the end Duo was left with no living relatives, an orphan. Trowa's family had adopted him soon after the accident, as a kind of apology that Trowa's father hadn't made it in time to save his parents. And ever since then Duo and Trowa had been raised as brothers.   
  
Trowa frowned deeply.  
  
Raised as brothers? Ha.   
  
He couldn't deny how he felt about Duo, and it certainly reached past brotherly love. So much to the point that he was hoping Duo would have noticed the feeling that had prompted him to buy the chess set and every once in a while give Duo a small kiss. It wasn't just protective brotherly love; it was love plain and simple. But Duo didn't seem to notice… or he ignored it on purpose.  
  
Trowa sighed and tied off his shoes, heading for the door. Grabbing his school bag and stepping out onto the street he made a promise to himself. He was being too protective of Duo, too afraid to hurt the boy again. But this couldn't wait. He'd tell him how he felt today, and come hell or high water he'd accept the consequences, whatever they might be.  
  
**  
  
Duo raced through the school halls, making a beeline straight for the library. He hadn't arrived at the school as early as he'd wanted and didn't have much time before class. Racing through the halls he hit the library door at an amazing speed and threw it open, running straight into the boy standing in front of him, both toppling to the ground with a cry of surprise.  
  
Duo jumped up. "Oh man, I'm really sorry! I didn't see you there."  
  
Quatre rubbed the back of his head and sat up, groaning. "Ouch…"  
  
"You all right?"  
  
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, you just caught me by surprise. Lucky the floor is carpeted huh?" Standing up he brushed himself off and glanced around for the book he'd been carrying. Duo stood up and spotted it. Picking up the old and worn volume he handed it to Quatre.  
  
Duo's eyebrows raised when he saw the author. "You read Heero Yuy's stuff?"  
  
The blond blinked. "No, yeah, well kinda. I mean I just got this book from the lady I'm living with. Why? Have you read him?"  
  
Duo snickered. "Read him? He's only the most popular writer in this town. Keep track of that book, it's really hard to get copies of his stuff considering it isn't published."  
  
"How much has he written?"  
  
"Couple books, not too many. People say they are all really good, though."  
  
Quatre smiled. "How many have you read?"  
  
Duo responded with a smirk. "All of them that I can get my hands on."  
  
"Do you know him? I mean do you know Heero Yuy? I'd kinda like to meet him."  
  
Duo's smirk wilted at that and he shook his head, running a hand over his braid. "That I can't help you on. The guy is really hard to find and few people talk to him. Most don't even know what he looks like. He's pretty hard to track down."  
  
"Oh." Quatre frowned and carefully placed the book back in his school bag. "All right, thanks for the information anyway. I guess I'll just have to keep looking. Talk to you later, I have to run to class." Quatre turned and started for the door.  
  
"Wait."  
  
Quatre glanced back over his shoulder.  
  
"What do you want to find him for?"  
  
Quatre just shrugged. "Nothing too important. It's kinda hard to explain, don't worry about it. I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah… bye." Duo watched the blond boy leave the library, the door swinging shut behind him as he stepped outside. Duo frowned at the door, long after he was out of sight. Why was that blond searching for Heero Yuy? And why did he look so disappointed at the fact that Heero was really hard to find.   
  
Shrugging to himself he let the thought slide and turned, heading for the checkout desk. Oh well, whoever that new blond boy was it wasn't important, least not at the moment. His lips curved into his most flirtatious smile as he headed for the checkout desk and he leaned over the counter, smiling at the girl who stood behind it.  
  
"Heya Sylvia, how's life treating ya?"  
  
The strawberry blond girl behind the desk blushed and turned her face away, trying to hide the redness in her cheeks. "Not nearly as nice as you do, Maxwell," she said with a bright smile.  
  
"Sorry to hear that, hope things look up. So, you got a list for me today?"  
  
She nodded and pulled out a neatly folded sheet of notebook paper and handed it over. Pulling himself to sit up on the desk next to her he opened up the sheet and scanned over the list. "It's pretty long this time," she said, "You still going to be able to-"  
  
"Easily. They'll be here by Monday, as usual. And tell Lu she needs to stop losing her copies. I'm not a bottomless pit you know."  
  
Sylvia snickered. "Already spoke to her about it, she swore that this time she would keep track of it."  
  
"Good." Duo pocketed the list and jumped down from the desk. "See you on Monday Sylvia, until then don't get lost in the shelves." Waving to her he walked out of the library and headed to his next class. Sylvia just shook her head and went back to checking in the pile of newly returned books.  
  
**  
  
"Are you always reading?"  
  
Quatre glanced up from his book to see Marimeia standing over him, mock frowning with her hands on her hips. "Just waiting for you." He said, flashing her a smile and placing his bookmark at his spot. Then he set the book down as Marimeia dropped onto the grass beside him. "Class run late?"  
  
She nodded and pulled out her lunch, taking a drink from her bottle of juice she sighed. "I shouldn't be complaining about the amount of work at this school, I mean I knew it was a work-heavy place and all, but still three papers in one week? I'm going to have to work my butt off and I still won't be able to sleep. Not to mention that the office hired me as the official ambassador type person to all you new students… no offense."  
  
"None taken."  
  
"I just don't know when I'm going to find time for myself." Taking out an apple she took a bite and flopped back, lying out and gazing up at the leaves and branches above them. Quatre followed her gaze thoughtfully as he worked through his own lunch.  
  
"But enough of my complaining, how are your new classes? Anything like your old school?"  
  
Quatre shook his head. "I was home-schooled, so no it's completely different. A little much to get used to but I think I'm getting the hang of it."  
  
Marimeia rolled over onto her stomach and took another bite of her apple, cocking her head at him. "Quatre, what do you do for fun, you know, during your free time? Tell me you don't just read."  
  
He laughed. "No, I read a lot. And help my uncle out with stuff, just random things." He shrugged. "Why? You trying to ask me out on another indirect date?"  
  
Marimeia sighed and just shook her head. "You should get out of your room more. Spend time around town, have some fun. Reading is fine and all but you should hang out with people."  
  
"As soon as I get a handle on my homework I promise I'll try to be more social, deal?"  
  
She grinned. "I'm going to hold you to that, Quatre Rabera Winner."  
  
"It's Quatre, and I'm looking forward to it."  
  
The two continued the meal with small talk about the school. With little persuasion Marimeia shared her vast knowledge of the school with Quatre, showing him that despite her complaining she did enjoy being the 'ambassador' to new students. In return he answered her questions about his home life and joked with her about the indirect dates she tried to ask him on. He had grown up with over two-dozen older sister, many of whom were adopted for various reasons, and knew all the female tricks about dating. He also knew that Marimeia enjoyed the jokes even though that's all they were.  
  
It seemed that both got the hint that Quatre just wasn't interested in her beyond friendship, still that didn't stop her from trying and having a good time in the pursuit. And he wasn't about to spoil her fun, considering he also enjoyed it and she was the only friend he'd made so far. He was a social person… just not that quickly. It took him a while to speak up to people he didn't know and he knew he wouldn't be able to make many more friends until he became familiar with his surroundings, and Marimeia was the quickest way to do that. So it worked out for both of them.  
  
As they talked Quatre's attention was drawn over to the couple he'd seen the other day. Like before they sat under a tree, this time sharing a boxed lunch as the one with the braided hair chatted happily. Quatre also recognized him as the boy he'd nearly been run over by in the library a couple hours ago. The one who'd known about Heero Yuy…  
  
He frowned. It seemed his only leads at the moment were to talk to the old woman he was living with or the lively braided boy, and he couldn't decide. He knew the old woman would answer his questions, but he had to live with her after all the questions and he was afraid of wearing out his welcome. But with the lively boy the story was different, it would be much more of a juggling act. He'd have to tell him just enough to get more information, but not enough to make him overly curious. He sighed, this was turning out to be a lot more then he'd bargained for.  
  
"Hello? Quatre! Earth to space boy!"  
  
Quatre blinked and turned his head back to Marimeia, his face growing slightly heated from the look on her face. "Yeah?"  
  
"You were staring at the lovebirds, weren't you? Dreaming of future relationships with your boyfriend?"  
  
Quatre coughed and shook his head, surprised at her bluntness. "Stop that. I just got lost in my thoughts."  
  
"What kind of thoughts?" She asked in a low voice.  
  
"Not those kind!"  
  
Marimeia laughed and opened her mouth to answer back when…  
  
"Back off!"  
  
Both turned in surprise as the icy cold voice echoed through the yard. Quatre's eyes widened as he saw the braided boy slap the other across the face so hard it sent him to the ground. The other boy froze; his hand touching his cheek in surprise as he just stared at the braided boy standing over him.  
  
In a flash Marimeia was up on her feet and rushing over to the two, with Quatre close behind. Marimeia dropped down beside the boy who was holding his cheek and glared up at the braided boy, protectively.  
  
"Just what do you think you are doing Duo?!"  
  
Duo glared at her, his expression colder then ice. Then the expression faded and he blinked, his eyes switching from anger to confusion. Quatre watched the boy's eyes flicker from Marimeia to the boy beside her and he shook his head. Backing away slowly Duo finally swallowed and just turned away completely, running across the schoolyard to the main building and disappearing inside. All three watched him disappear in silence.  
  
"Trowa, what was that all about?" Marimeia asked softly.  
  
Trowa frowned and shrugged off her hand, which rested on his shoulder. Gathering up the remains of the lunch he just flashed her a sad smile and stood up.  
  
"I guess he doesn't feel the same way."   
  
With those words Trowa walked away, his shoulders slumped just slightly in defeat. Marimeia stood up and watched after the disappearing figures in complete confusion. Finally she threw her arms up in the air and gave a great melodramatic sigh. "Honestly! Sometimes I just don't understand those two!"  
  
"Mari… what color eyes does Duo have?" Quatre asked softly, frowning and crossing his arms.  
  
She turned and blinked at him. "Now why would you be asking a strange question like that?"  
  
"They're deep blue right?"  
  
Marimeia shook her head. "No, they are violet, why? What's so important about the color of his eyes?"  
  
Quatre just shook his head. "It's nothing. Just thought I… must have been a reflection or something." He trailed off and finally shrugged, hoping she would drop the subject.  
  
"Ok, Quatre, anyone ever tell you you're strange?"  
  
Quatre smirked. "More then once."  
  
She laughed, the light mood having returned, much to Quatre's relief. "Well, we better clean up our stuff. I don't know about you but I have class in a few minutes and I can't be late."  
  
Quatre nodded and followed her back over to clean up the untouched pieces of his lunch. The two headed back for the main building and their own classes.  
  
"Hey!" Quatre called after her just as she touched the handle for the door to her class.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Here's to hoping they don't add another paper onto that growing list of yours."  
  
Marimeia laughed and held her hand up in the air, crossing her fingers. "Yep, here's to hoping."  
  
**  
  
The door opened and Duo stepped out onto the roof of the main school building. Crossing the large flat area quickly he finally came to stand at the guard fence. Lacing his fingers in the thin pieces of metal he gazed down, watching the small bundles of students gather up the pieces from their lunches and head to class. From where he stood they all looked so small. So small and simple, simple little blotches of color without a care in the world.  
  
He didn't feel like that any more. Sighing he laid his forehead against the metal netting and shut his eyes, just letting the soft wind brush over his body and playfully tug at his clothes. Trowa's words rung softly in his head.  
  
"Duo… I…"  
  
"What are you stuttering for? Just say it."  
  
"Duo… I… love you."  
  
Duo's body shivered a little and he shook his head, causing the fence to rattle lightly. Trowa loved him? No, that wasn't right.  
  
Every part of his mind screamed against those words, screaming that they were wrong, not right… almost unclean. He thought of Trowa as a brother. The two of them had been brothers since his parents had died. Brothers couldn't be in love… could they?  
  
Shaking his head he let go of the fence and sat down, leaning his back up against it and hugging his knees. Violet eyes closed and a heart shaped face rested on his knees, letting his mind and thoughts wander.  
  
He knew Trowa wasn't really his brother, and he knew that in reality there was nothing wrong with Trowa actually having fallen in love with him. In fact, looking back at all the time they'd lived together and everything Trowa had done for him in the past, he was actually surprised he hadn't suspected it earlier. What with the small kisses, embraces and all, it should have been obvious. Even the chessboard should have been a dead give away. You don't get something that nice for just a friend. But…  
  
But there was still a part of him that screamed at how wrong this should all be. He couldn't see it, he just couldn't see being in love with Trowa. The two were brothers, and they cared about each other to a fault. But… not in that way. At least Duo didn't. He cared for Trowa and knew he would protect him with his very life, but it was because Trowa was practically the only family he had left, not because he loved him.  
  
Duo opened his eyes and shook his head madly, causing his braid to wrap around his face and slap his cheek with a sharp sting. Pausing he touched his own cheek, feeling the heated spot his hair left behind.  
  
He hadn't meant to slap Trowa. He didn't even know what had come over him at that moment, it just all happened so fast. It was as if Trowa's words had set off a chain reaction. They hadn't even made him angry really, least not that he could tell, just incredibly confused. But for one second it was as if some thick rage had raised up in his body, like a volcano preparing to explode and that's exactly what he'd done. He'd exploded and he'd slapped Trowa across the face, hard. Then the anger had disappeared with only the hand-shaped red mark as any evidence.  
  
Hugging himself tightly he sighed. His life had been so easy until those words, so simple and happy. And now…   
  
Now he just didn't have any idea what to do.  
  
He was in foreign territory.  
  
"What am I supposed to do?"  
  
The air around him only answered with a soft whisper and the chiming of the school bells below. Classes were in session; half the day was over. Standing up he headed back for the door which led to the stairs and classes below.  
  
"I guess I should apologize. I shouldn't have slapped him."  
  
Duo ran a hand through his bangs and walked down the stairs, jamming his hands in his pockets. He couldn't hide from this, that he knew. If there was one thing he learned from his parents' death it was not to mull around and ignore the uncomfortable things like they didn't exist. You never knew when someone would be snatched out of your life with no return. So he made up his mind to speak with Trowa, on careful, non-hostile terms. And hopefully this could all be figured out.  
  
Hopefully…  
  
Here's to hoping.  
  
** 


	3. part 3

Part 3  
  
"I'm home!"  
  
The old woman perked up in her chair and smiled at Quatre as he stepped in through the front door and slid off his shoes. Turning the fabric over in her hands she began stitching on the next shape in the large quilt. "Welcome back, have a good day at school?"  
  
Quatre nodded. "And I started reading the book you gave me. I'm almost half way done. You were right, though, it was a struggle not to read it during class. I'm having trouble putting it down."  
  
The old woman chuckled merrily. "It ends far too soon. I hope he has more books soon, it's like waiting on pins and needles to see when they come in."  
  
Quatre raised an eyebrow and paused in slipping off his coat. "What do you mean by come in?"  
  
"Didn't I tell you? Oh, dear me, I guess not." She pulled a needle out of the fabric and paused to think, then went back to sewing as Quatre hung up his jacket. "The library, the one at your school. That's where you get copies of his books. Just go up to the nice young lady behind the desk with blond hair and tell her which ones you want. I can't remember her name though…"  
  
"You mean Sylvia? She was the one working there today." Quatre was trying his best not to let his eyes go wide and brighten up so much that they glowed. What awesome luck! Another lead to follow up on and he hadn't even begun the search seriously yet!  
  
"Yes, that's her. Just talk to her and she can get you copies of his other books. Sadly enough Lucrenzia, down the street, borrowed all my others and lost them. I swear her house just eats his work, she keeps losing it. But you should be able to get copies of your own from Sylvia. Oh, and before I forget, there's a letter for you from the mail today. I believe it's from someone named Kush…"  
  
"Treize Kushrenada?!"  
  
The old woman nodded.  
  
"He's my uncle. Thanks so much!" Quatre grabbed the letter from the table and raced up to his room, ripping open the envelope as he ran, nearly tearing the letter with it. Throwing open his door he dropped down on his bed and hurriedly opened the letter, letting the extra piece of paper fall into his lap until he was finished reading.  
  
Dear nephew,  
  
Let me first say that I am delighted you convinced your father to let you travel and study at the school of your choice for the next year. I trust you did your best to convince him and knowing you, you probably did it without any of the 'strange' information I gave you. I swear my brother thinks I'm warping your fragile young mind for my own nefarious purposes, but then again I suppose I am. You don't mind do you? No, of course not.  
  
But on to business. Given you've had not even a week to settle in I suspect you haven't even started looking, which is fine; we are not in a rush by any means. However, I thought of a few more places you might want to try and dig up his name that could give you a few leads. The library in the city, if not the one attached to your school, should have a record of gravestones in the area, which will probably be your best bet. Not to mention census records, though those are harder to get a hold of. You might try asking around, though be careful not to draw attention. We don't want to make your new home uncomfortable, now do we?  
  
At any rate I've enclosed an old sketch. It might be of some use to you in your search, though I doubt the location exists anymore in real life. I'll leave this small little clue up to your instincts.   
  
Good luck to you. I can't wait to hear how things are going and to hear about what you may have found. Be sure to write me about your progress and I will help as much as I can.   
  
Treize.  
  
Quatre set down the letter, after rereading it, and took the other sheet of paper which had fallen into his lap. Unfolding it carefully he found it was a photocopy of a very intricate pencil sketch. The photocopied edges were ripped and the paper was smudged but he could still make out the sketch and most of the details. The thin black lines came together to form a stretch in the forest, a small clearing. The plants were drawn in perfect detail, creating a perfect rendition of a circle shaped garden surrounded by ornate wooden carved poles. Quatre let his eyes move over the plants, vaguely recognizing some of the plants as native to his current area.  
  
Carefully folding up the letter and the sketch he placed them in the folder in his chest with the other letters. Then he grabbed a sweater and headed down the stairs.  
  
"I'm going to go for a walk," he said politely to the old lady, who still sat in her rocking chair, working on the quilt.  
  
"Will you be back for dinner?"  
  
Quatre thought for a moment then shook his head. "Naw, don't worry about it. If I get hungry I'll pick something up. I just want to have a look around town."  
  
She smiled and nodded to him. Slipping on his shoes he stepped outside and pulled the sweater on over his head. Pausing on the front steps he looked left and then right, trying to decide.  
  
So… where was the nearest graveyard?  
  
Remembering the train ride to the city he mentally pinpointed its location. Left. Slipping his hands in his pockets he started down the road toward his destination.  
  
**  
  
Trowa sat down at the table and picked up one of the chess pawns in his hand. Turning it over with his long fingers he examined the detailed design. A siren, sitting on a rock playing a song on her harp as beautifully carved wings and long trestles of hair blew in the wind. He remembered reading somewhere that the first siren was a woman who had lost her love at sea and forever sang for him to come back. Lost her love? How fitting.  
  
Sighing he set down the piece and leaned back in the chair. Upon leaning back his eyes caught the door and found Duo standing there silently, just watching him. Trowa paused and bit his lower lip, not sure what to do. How long had Duo been standing there?  
  
"Hey," Duo said, offering a timid smile.  
  
"Hey," Trowa echoed.  
  
Duo took a step forward, letting the door close behind him. "Trowa, I-"  
  
Trowa held up his hand, causing Duo to pause in his words. "Don't. It's ok, you don't need to explain."  
  
Duo shook his head and walked forward, sitting down in the chair across from Trowa, just where they had sat for the chess game the night before. Once again Trowa thought it was fitting. Duo had him in checkmate, and it was time for him to lay down his king and give an explanation.  
  
"I shouldn't have said anything about it." He murmured.  
  
Duo frowned. "And what? Let it swim around in your head until the thoughts threatened to burst out? That wouldn't have made it any better, or any easier." Duo's voice dropped and he glanced away. "And you know it."  
  
"Yeah, you're right." Trowa admitted softly.  
  
"How's your cheek?"  
  
The end of Trowa's lips tilted slightly in a small smile. "Better."  
  
"I shouldn't have hit you, I didn't mean to. It was just the words came right out of the blue and I… I shouldn't have hit you. Sorry about that, but you caught me off guard. Those were the last words I expected to hear from you and I wasn't prepared."  
  
Trowa nodded in understanding. "And now?"  
  
"And now…" Duo sighed and let his eyes wander the room, as if searching for the words to say. "And now I'm not sure." His eyes settled back on Trowa. "I think of you as a brother. A brother who took care of me after my parents died, a brother and a true friend. But…" Duo let his arms drop at his sides in a helpless gesture.  
  
"It doesn't go beyond that, does it?"  
  
"No, I'm sorry Trowa, but it doesn't."  
  
Trowa nodded, accepting the words for what they were. The harsh and honest truth. Duo didn't love him back and it hurt. But in reality he wasn't too surprised. He'd suspected it might be the case, he just wasn't prepared for it to hurt so much when his fears were confirmed. Still, on the bright side, at least Duo wasn't screaming and cursing at him. He could accept Duo's honestly, but to possibly be hated by him would have been too painful to bear.  
  
"So what now?" Duo murmured. Idly he picked up one of the chess pieces, much as Trowa had only a few minutes earlier. He turned it over in his hands without even noticing what the design was. He didn't really care; he just needed something to occupy his attention so it didn't feel so awkward in the room.  
  
"Nothing I guess," Trowa said with a shrug. "We both know how we feel and we can leave it at that. Unless…" he let the other possibility hang in the air, unsaid. Unless it made Duo uncomfortable. Unless Duo wanted to leave now that he knew the truth.  
  
Duo met his eyes, setting down the chess piece back on the board. "Do you… do you want me to leave?"  
  
Trowa's eyes widened in surprise, he opened his mouth but the words failed him. No! He never wanted that!  
  
"I mean, I just turned eighteen. If it makes you feel uncomfortable I can get a job and move out into one of the homes that rents out places for students. I know how to work and the city knows me, shouldn't be too hard for me to live on my own if you-"  
  
Duo stopped as he realized that Trowa was no longer sitting in his chair. In the moments that he'd been talking Trowa had stood up and crossed the space between them, wrapping his arms around Duo from behind the chair and holding him in a light embrace, one that he could have easily broken out of had he been uncomfortable with it. He chose not to move.  
  
"Don't," Trowa whispered softly. He rested his head on top of Duo's and tightened the embrace just slightly. "Please don't leave."  
  
Duo turned his head away and looked at the floor. "Won't it make you uncomfortable if I stay?"  
  
"No, never. Despite feelings we're still brothers like you said. Only leave if you truly want to, but don't do it because you think you'll make me uncomfortable."  
  
Duo smiled and clutched his hands over Trowa's, turning his head so Trowa could see his smile. "Yeah, brothers. I'll stay until you kick me out then."  
  
Trowa smiled back at him. "I'd never do that."  
  
Duo chuckled. "Don't make promises you can't keep, bro. You never know when I might get too annoying for you to stand."  
  
Trowa just responded with a smile and pulled his arms away, letting Duo out of the embrace. He knew he could never banish the smiling boy from his home, no matter what he did. He knew it would be a little uncomfortable living in the same house as someone he cared for but was forbidden to touch, but he also knew that it was much better then not living together at all. He was lucky to have Duo as a friend and even luckier to have him as a brother. A brother he could live with and still be very close to. And in the end nothing had changed, except that now Duo knew the truth.  
  
And Duo had no problem with it.  
  
Trowa could have danced around happily at the joy he felt in his heart. But being that he was a quiet person he contented himself to a warm smile and was rewarded with an equally warm one from Duo.  
  
That smile he could live with.  
  
**  
  
Duo slipped off to dreamland that night in a fairly good mood. Surprisingly he found it not the least bit uncomfortable to still live with Trowa in the same house and sleep in the same room. Only one small change had been made, he made sure to dress in the bathroom and wear boxers and a tee shirt to bed. It wasn't because he was uncomfortable but more for Trowa's sake. Now that he knew the truth he didn't want to make it any more uncomfortable for Trowa so he figured wearing clothes to bed and dressing out of sight was the least he could do.  
  
Closing his eyes and opening the door for sleep to over take him happened simply and quickly. And not surprisingly enough he soon found himself standing in another dream, the air around him cold and uninviting.  
  
Shivering he found he was back standing in the small clearing, surrounded by tall trees with a small cabin in the center. He noticed this time that a few parts of the dream were fuzzy, various areas fuzzed over with a strange kind of fog so he couldn't completely make out the details. Ignoring the strange detail he stepped toward the cabin, his bare feet crushing the frost covered grass. Reaching out to touch the door he found it swung open without his touch.  
  
He found the inside of the cabin to be exactly the same as the last time. Roughly cut wood walls and a pretty empty space, save for the cot in the corner. Though this time he found the cot full once again, a thin figure sleeping there soundly.  
  
Duo raced over to the cot and began trying to wake the boy. He didn't want this dream to be a repeat of the last night, and decided he needed to wake the boy up long before there was even a hint of fire. Though this time, instead of there being a salamander on the rock outside, there was the soft sounds of bird chirping and the dim light of the sun just starting on its daily path.  
  
"Wake up!" Duo said, shaking the boy not so gently.  
  
The figure stirred under his movement. Without opening his eyes the boy grumbled something incoherent and swatted blindly at Duo, then attempted to roll over and go back to sleep. Duo didn't give up, instead he kept shaking the boy.  
  
There was a sharp sound behind him and Duo whirled to see a dark figure standing in the doorway of the cabin, the angle of the light shadowing the figure from sight. He blinked and found that the boy was no longer lying in bed. Instead he was sitting on the other side of the cabin on a small bench. In his hands he held a small blade and a small piece of wood. He was carving…  
  
"Who are you?" Duo asked softly.  
  
The boy didn't answer. Instead he just kept carving, his lips pursed together in concentration while his foot tapped to a silent beat in his head.   
  
Duo cautiously approached the boy. He found it strange that the boy didn't even seem to notice him, he was just so intent on his carving.  
  
"Excuse me…"  
  
The boy didn't look up, instead he gave a light hiss as the knife in his hand slipped and sliced his thumb, blood dripping onto the carved piece of wood. Dropping the knife he immediately placed his cut finger in his mouth and sucked on the wound, wincing in pain. Angrily he tossed the carved piece of wood across the cabin. Duo watched the piece land in the corner by the door.  
  
Walking over to it timidly he reached down to pick it up. He couldn't quite make out the shape since the carving wasn't finished. Wrapping his fingers around it he hissed in pain and dropped the piece, watching smoke emit from it as it landed on the ground. Before it had been a half carved piece of wood, now it was carved in beautiful detail to show two figures embracing, the blood stain curling down the back and just slightly visible. But it wasn't a perfect piece of wood anymore; it was burnt to a deep black. Duo took a step back in surprise as the smell of smoke rose above him.  
  
The boy disappeared from his place in the corner and once again was lying in the cot as smoke seeped in under the closed door. Duo coughed and covered his mouth with his hand.  
  
"No! Wake up! You're going to burn again!"  
  
Voices echoed loudly around him, but the words were gibberish, he couldn't understand them. The yelling increased as the smoke grew thicker, a solid panic raising around him and almost trying to choke him like the smoke. Duo coughed and tried to race over to the boy but found himself frozen in place, just watching with wide eyes as the fire moved throughout the cabin, flickering dangerously over everything. Tears leaked from his eyes and his throat stung as he tried to yell at the sleeping boy.  
  
"Wake up! Please!"  
  
He dropped into a fit of coughing as the fire surrounded his feet and smoke became so thick he couldn't see. Screams echoed in his ears joined by his own as he felt his skin burn. No! Not again! Not like before!  
  
"Help…" he choked out in a low voice. He could barely speak and he felt like he was drowning in the smoke. Sinking… burning… falling…  
  
"Some…one…"  
  
His eyes slipped shut and he blindly reached out, trying to find something to grasp onto. Out of the darkness hands slipped around his body in a comforting gesture. They were cautious and careful, yet comforting. Duo relaxed slightly, happy to feel the arms around him.   
  
But that feeling didn't last as an unexplainable rage ripped through his body. Anger washed over him and he struck out at the person holding him, and struck out hard. There was a loud cry of pain and Duo was falling once again. But he felt safe, protected in the isolated dark. Dreamless sleep took over.  
  
**  
  
Trowa sat on the floor, his body wincing from the pain of being thrown backward and hitting his back on the corner of the bedside table. He bit his lip hard to keep from voicing the pain and tried to calm himself down. His back hurt from the sudden impact and the side of his face stung from the new marks.  
  
Duo lay in bed in front of him, seemingly resting peacefully. But a moment before he'd been thrashing around in bed once more, yelling out in pain and coughing. Trowa knew he'd been burning again in his dreams and he tried to comfort him as usual. But this time Duo had struck out at him. Duo's nails had raked across his face, nearly missing his eye. He'd landed on the floor with a cry of surprise and pain.  
  
Sitting up he winced at the pain and sat back on his own bed. Trowa sighed and crawled under his own covers, watching Duo through half closed and sleepy eyes.  
  
Duo had never struck out at him before. Never, in fact the two had barely even fought before. But in the last few nights all of that had changed and this week just seemed to be a week of new things. The week of shattering old ideas.  
  
Trowa rolled over, turning his back to Duo, and wrapped his arms tightly around his pillow. He honestly didn't know what to do. True, he and Duo had come to some means of compromise with the conversation earlier, but now all that seemed like a dream. He knew things never worked out that well. He also realized that no matter how much he wanted Duo to stay it was slowly going to kill him.  
  
What was worse? Living with a person who you knew you could never have or not living with that person. No matter what his feelings were for Duo he knew it was only a matter of time before it would slowly kill him. Seeing Duo everyday would wear away at his resolve and someday he might cross the line of being brothers. And if he ever crossed that line, especially after they'd talked, he knew he'd get more then slapped.  
  
But he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to react in this situation.   
  
Trowa curled tighter against his pillow and buried his face in the soft but worn fabric. He didn't know what to do about this and he had no idea who to ask.   
  
In the end telling Duo his feelings hadn't changed anything. But rather it had only made things worse. He knew every time he saw Duo smile at someone else it would slowly kill him… but he didn't have an escape route out. 


	4. part 4

Part 4  
  
Marimeia was fuming.   
  
Leaning against the lockers she tapped her foot on the ground hurriedly, causing her tennis shoes to squeak just slightly each time. Her blue eyes were pitched in anger as she watched the students walk in through the main doors. Most of them saw her and saw how angry she was, heck it was almost impossible to miss. Her anger radiated like a physical force, just daring them to get anywhere near her.  
  
Lucky for them her anger was focused on someone else. One person in particular who was nearing the door and about to pass through.  
  
In a quick movement that most people missed her hand darted out and clamped around said person's arm, yanking him out of the flow of students so he stood right in front of her by the lockers. She glared at him as he yanked his arm away. It took a second for him to realize what had happened and when he did he froze and swallowed hard.  
  
"Uh… Mornin' Mari." Duo stuttered, his eyes flickering for and exit. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned… well a woman scorned was a spark from a lighter compared to this girl's raging hatred and most smart people knew you cleared the area when Marimeia was ticked, unfortunately Duo didn't have that option.  
  
"Morning Mari my ass! Duo, what the heck happened between you and Trowa yesterday?"  
  
The crowd of flowing students visibly adverted its path, all of them staying as far away from the angry girl as they could. Many of them threw nervous glances in the two's direction but most weren't even that daring.  
  
His eyes grew serious. "It's been solved, the issue is dealt with and there's nothing to talk about."   
  
Marimeia's expression only darkened. "You aren't getting off that easily, you had better explain what happened."  
  
Duo frowned at her, his expression starting to mirror hers, only tinged with impatience and annoyance. "Back off, Mari."  
  
"No. I may not be live-in family with Trowa but I'm as close a thing to family as he has in this town currently, so you better listen up. I don't know what is going on between you two but it better be explained to me. I don't care what he said but you had no right to lash out at him like you did yesterday! He's never been anything but nice to you and then you slap him across the face and just run away… even girls know that's bad etiquette! So you better explain this to me and you had better explain it now!"  
  
Duo's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to Marimeia, surprising her with his boldness. When he spoke his voice was low and threatening, the type of voice that crawled down your spine and made you shiver, desperately wanting to find the nearest heat source as far away from the speaker as possible.  
  
"What went on is between me and Trowa. Case closed, no discussion. Back. Off."  
  
Marimeia blinked in surprise, her anger and rage withering away to a small feeling in the pit of her stomach. Numbly she nodded, feeling her heart race in her chest. Watching with wide eyes she stayed completely still as he stepped back and his expression lightened. With each step back the threatening nature just seemed to fade away, like someone drawing a curtain against the light and soon Duo was back to the normal Duo she was used to.   
  
The boy gave a small shrug and walked off, apparently satisfied that he'd gotten her to shut up and back off. Meanwhile Marimeia watched him walk away and leaned back against the lockers, trying to keep herself from trembling.   
  
"What the hell was that?" She murmured softly.  
  
Taking a few deep breaths she closed her eyes and waited for her heart to slow down. She didn't understand it one bit. Duo didn't usually act like that, nor did he usually take things so easily. She'd yelled at him plenty times before from different disagreements and things like that but he'd never reacted so violently before.   
  
Frowning she adjusted her backpack on the single shoulder it hung on and opened her eyes, filtering into the flow of students heading for class. After a moment she reflected that she may have treated him a little harshly considering she knew nothing about the situation, but that still didn't give him a right to act so venomously… did it? She shuddered as she remembered the icy look on his face and those cold eyes. Why had he changed so suddenly, was it something she said?  
  
Duo and Trowa were close friends of hers, aside from the fact that Trowa was actually her distant cousin. And they'd always gotten along together, always. But this time… for that one second she felt like she didn't know him at all. He'd scared her.  
  
That didn't make sense! Duo had always been about as threatening as a teddy bear. He was always smiling, always happy and always eager to put a smile on someone else's face. But that Duo had been completely different.  
  
"Maybe I hit a nerve," she murmured softly. Sighing to herself she dropped into her desk and pulled out her notebook. Not time to worry about Duo and Trowa now, she had a math test that commanded her attention. And she'd be damned before her friend's personal problems made her GPA drop.   
  
**  
  
Quatre lay on his stomach on the grass school lawn, chewing on the end of the pen thoughtfully as his eyes roamed over the notebook page. Before, scrawled in neat lines, was a short list of various things to consider. After a moment's thought he crossed out the line that said 'East Side Grave Yard'.   
  
His little fieldtrip to the graveyard the night before hasn't revealed much. Those results weren't unexpected but still it didn't serve to lift his hopes. The only thing the graveyard had confirmed was that the Barton family owned a significant amount of the plot, which meant Marimeia's relatives were buried there. But that wasn't anything important, considering that in semi-small towns like this it was common for families to own part of a graveyard where they placed all their relatives.  
  
So that had tuned up nothing.  
  
He supposed he'd gotten his hopes up prematurely. But after receiving so many clues on the first day he couldn't help but get excited. Who would have thought that Heero Yuy's name would have popped up so quickly, and he was a local as well! But now that the initial shock of receiving so much good luck in a row had worn off he was starting to look at the situation a little more rationally.  
  
Quatre realized that this little 'investigation' was going to involve a lot more legwork then he'd initially thought. Besides investigating the graveyards and tracking down this illusive Heero Yuy he would probably spend large amounts of time in the back rooms of the school library reading over the town's history and talking to a lot of people who lived in the current area.   
  
Sighing he dropped his pen on top of the notebook and rolled over in the grass, gazing up at the partially cloudy sky above. This search was going to take a lot out of him, that he could already tell. Still, he knew the first step; at least that was obvious. The first step was to track down Heero Yuy.   
  
Of all the people in the school he'd met so far there seemed to be two people who would most likely know where Heero was. The first was Sylvia and the second was Duo. Of the two of them Duo seemed to be the easiest to get in contact with and he did talk a lot, so it might just be more comfortable to talk to him. The one problem was that Quatre hated just walking up to people he didn't know and talking to them, it felt so awkward. And on top of that he didn't want to use Marimeia as a connection, knowing that he had to keep as much of this as secret as possible. So just walking up to Duo and asking him seemed to be the only option unless…  
  
Something lightly bumped against the back of his head and Quatre sat up, turning around. He found the object was actually a volleyball which had rolled over. Picking up the ball he glanced up to see Duo waving toward him. Quatre could have laughed out loud at his luck.  
  
"Hey! Newbie! You want to come join us? We need another player!"  
  
Quatre couldn't help but smirk. Leaning down he closed his notebook, pushing it close to a tree trunk with his shoes and socks. Smiling at them he ran over and quickly filled the empty spot next to Duo with an enthusiastic "Sure!"  
  
Duo grinned back at him and served the ball at the other side.  
  
Quatre laughed and played the game, helping them send the ball back over the net as many times at he could. Still, somewhere in the back of his head he knew his good luck had to run out one of these times.  
  
The game lasted for nearly an hour, both sides putting in a fair amount of effort and wearing each other out. Finally they all decided to call it quits as the score hit a tie, for the fifth time. Duo grinned at the idea of stopping and dropped backward into the sandy plot, closing his eyes and breathing in relief. Quatre giggled and dropped down next to him as the other kids sat down to take their own rests.  
  
"So you got a name, newbie?" Duo asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead.  
  
"Quatre Winner," Quatre said with a smile.  
  
Duo sat up and offered a hand, shaking Quatre's with a grin. "Duo Maxwell, but I'm betting you already know my name from talking to Mari."  
  
Quatre nodded and un-tucked his school shirt, using one of the ends to wipe the sweat from his own face. Lucky for him the school day was over, he didn't think he could stand to sit down in a stuffy classroom after all that playing. "She's mentioned you and Trowa a few times, but not that often. You good friends? With her I mean."  
  
"Kind of. She's Trowa's distant cousin, and Trowa's family adopted me when I was really young."  
  
Quatre's eyebrows lifted but he let the subject drop. There was a difference between being a friend and being nosey. He didn't want to cross that line. In fact, the last thing he wanted to do was alienate his few friends that he had gained. So he kept his mouth shut, and instead stood up and brushed the sand from his hair.  
  
"You heading home?" Duo asked, standing up and brushing himself off.  
  
"Uh, yeah I guess."  
  
"Follow me back to my locker will you? I have something you might like."   
  
Blinking with confusion Quatre nodded and slipped on his shoes, quickly grabbing his notebook and falling into step behind Duo as they reentered the school. The hallways around them were emptier then usual, most of the students having already left. They walked around the main floor to practically the other side of the building until they came to a row of lockers near the offices. Duo stopped near one and turned in the code, pulling it open. Reaching inside he pulled out two thick looking pamphlets and handed them toward Quatre.  
  
Quatre nearly dropped his notebook when he saw them.  
  
Both were photocopied versions with a hastily sketched cover detailing different characters. Each had its own title, made up of one word just like the one Quatre had received from the lady. And each was a book written by Heero Yuy!  
  
"Where did you get these?!" Quatre could barely hold in his excitement. But below that excitement he had a completely different reaction. What was Duo doing with books by Heero Yuy? And for that matter, why did he seem to be the one who knew the most about the illusive author?  
  
"I picked them up from Sylvia as a personal favor. Figured you'd enjoy them, besides, I can get copies for myself later. I've already read them, borrowed them from a friend, so I figured I'd let the 'newbie' read them first."  
  
"Thanks a lot!" Quatre flipped through the books and took the time to turn them over and read the backs, smiling the whole time. After a few minutes he tucked them under his arm with his notebook and glanced up at Duo. "This is going to sound strange but…"  
  
Duo paused in digging through his locker and his eyes flickered to Quatre in question. Pulling his jacket from the locker he shut the door and turned to the blond boy. "Yeah?"  
  
"You don't know how to get a hold of Heero, do you?"  
  
Duo opened his mouth to answer but Quatre didn't let him.  
  
"I know it sounds strange, but I'd really like to talk to him about his stories… and stuff."  
  
"He's really hard to track down, Quatre. What do you need to talk to him for?"  
  
Quatre frowned. "It's hard to explain, kind of personal. Sorry if I keep pestering you but-"  
  
"Naw, don't worry about it. Tell you what, I'll see if I can help, no guarantees though."  
  
"Great!"  
  
"On one condition."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Duo grinned. "Come play with us more often. You were great, and thanks to you we sure gave them a run for their money."  
  
Quatre smiled. "Deal. Thanks a lot, Duo!"  
  
Receiving a smile and nod Quatre turned and left the hallway, heading toward his own locker to get his stuff before they closed up the building. Opening his own lock and dropping his things in his backpack he frowned to himself in thought. He glanced at the two new books and smiled softly.  
  
"It makes too much sense… but I still don't know for sure."  
  
Shrugging to himself he dropped the books in his backpack and started home, already planning in his mind what he'd write back to his uncle.  
  
Dear Uncle… I found him.  
  
**  
  
Trowa slipped the key in the lock of the door, only to watch it swing open from the slight pressure. Shaking his head he put his keys back in his pocket and stepped into the apartment.  
  
"Duo? You here?"  
  
"In the bedroom!" Duo's voice called back.  
  
Trowa dropped his bag on the couch in the living room and raised an eyebrow, glancing into the bedroom. He found the room dim, with the overhead light left off and the curtain drawn over the window. Duo lay on his bed, his arms under his head as he stared at the ceiling and sucked a blue lollipop. His face was turned in a deep frown while he had his legs crossed, one swaying slightly to a silent rhythm. Trowa smirked and walked into the room.  
  
As strange as the scene might sound Trowa was used to it. About once or twice a week he'd come home to find this same situation with Duo lying on the bed, sucking on a blue-raspberry lollipop with a notebook and pen lying next to his head. Duo also had blue lollipops when he was brainstorming. So, as strange or fantastical as the image may sound, it was completely harmless… as long as Trowa didn't let him mind dwell on the lollipop. He sighed softly.  
  
"Deep in thought?"  
  
"Yeah," Duo answered, his eyes never leaving the ceiling. "My muses just don't like me today."  
  
Trowa walked over to the beds. Picking up Duo's notebook he sat down on the edge of the bed and let his eyes scan over the page. It was an outline, a simple one giving the bare-bone situations and small character descriptions. Turning the page he mused over the quick sketches done of each of the characters. There were three main characters - one male and two females -- each dressed in various styles of clothing relating to the early 1800's. Trowa cocked his head slightly and flipped back to the story line.  
  
"A new one?"  
  
"Yeah, the idea popped in my head today. Actually, it's been in my head for a while, just haven't been able to figure how to work the plot."  
  
Trowa smirked and set the notebook down, crossing over to the closet. Pulling out a tee-shirt he changed out of his shirt from school into an older shirt that had a faded design of some robot on the front. Duo rolled over on the bed and watched him with a suspicious look.  
  
Trowa shook his head.  
  
"What?" Duo asked impatiently.  
  
"Nothing, you just don't usually write romances."  
  
Duo grinned and sat up, picking up the notebook and leafing through it. "You're right, but this stupid idea keeps running through my head. I figure maybe if I write it then my muses will be able to concentrate on other things."  
  
Trowa nodded and headed back toward the living room. It didn't need to be said, but whenever Duo was in one of his brainstorming moods he generally wanted to be left alone to think, even if he asked for advice. So Trowa headed out of the room, but paused at the door, glancing back over his shoulder.  
  
"Did Marimeia catch you today?"  
  
Duo's expression turned decidedly dark for a second, but he shook it off and shrugged. "Yeah, but she didn't say much important. Why? Something come up?"  
  
"She invited us to a party at her house this weekend. You up to it?"  
  
Duo chuckled. "Come on, when have you ever known me to say no to a party? It's free food, movies, no homework and better yet we don't have to help clean. Of course!"  
  
Trowa laughed. "I'll call her and tell her then. Good luck with your writing." Stepping completely out of the room he pulled the door shut behind him and headed for the phone.  
  
However his thoughts lingered on Duo's expression for that half second. He hadn't missed the dark glare Duo had given and he had a hunch he knew what it was about. Marimeia had probably stopped Duo earlier that day at school and badgered him about the slapping incident. Trowa sighed and shook his head.  
  
He knew his cousin meant well, but when things related to her family she tended to jump in without thinking. He'd have to speak with her and find out what she said to Duo. Then he'd get her to drop the subject. Or maybe he should just leave it alone. Marimeia hadn't said anything to him, which might mean that the subject had already been dropped. And if that was the case he didn't want to bring it up again, much less explain the reason behind why Duo had slapped him. Sighing he picked up the phone and dialed her number.  
  
As he heard his cousin answer the phone he decided to not bring it up, some things were better left unsaid.  
  
**  
  
Duo finished off the lollipop and chewed on the plastic white stick left over. Frowning he took the stick and flicked it across the room, listening to it land beside the garbage can.   
  
"Dang, missed."  
  
Flopping back on the bed his head hit his pillow and he went back to staring at the ceiling. He'd partially lied to Trowa about his problem with writing.   
  
Usually his mind moved so easily into writing mode, the words flying out through his pen and filling pages upon pages. His muses always gave him new ideas and he rarely hit writer's blocks. If anything, his little brainstorming sessions were to iron out the flow of ideas in his head, which became overwhelming more often then not. If it were his choice he would write all the time, but then he figured his muses would stop with the inspiration, so instead he let the ideas flow, mixed with other activities to inspire them.  
  
But today it wasn't that easy. What he'd said about the idea swimming around in his head was true, this particular story idea had been beating up against his mind for a couple years now, he'd just never really tried to write it. But now that he had finally decided to sit down and try his hand at romance his thoughts kept focusing on other things.  
  
For one thing, they kept flipping back to the strange boy in his dreams. Every time he closed his eyes to think he saw the mental image of that small cabin and the boy sitting in the corner, carving away in deep concentration. He found it strange that he could create the mental image so well, usually his mental images were blurry or fuzzed, but this one was in perfect detail. It took very little effort to catch the dark shade of the boy's messy hair, pulled back into a thin ponytail which hung down his back. Darkened skin from hours of work out in the sun and callused hands that looked strong, despite his slight build.   
  
Duo let his eyes drift shut and the mental image appeared in his mind. Silently he watched the boy repeatedly carving the piece of wood, cutting his finger and throwing the piece across the room. The scene ran through his head like a broken record, skipping back to the beginning over and over again. With a careful eye he watched and re-watched the scene, each time his mind committing the details to memory.  
  
It was strange, but he felt like he should know that boy.   
  
"Maybe I've seen him before," he muttered softly.  
  
Rolling over on his side Duo continued to watch the mental record and sighed softly. Eventually the record stopped and he slipped off into dreamland, the silence and the darkness of the room surrounding him.  
  
Then the record stopped skipping. In fact, one could say it moved on to a new song.  
  
For this time, in his dream he saw the boy again.  
  
But this time the boy spoke to him.  
  
** 


	5. part 5

Part 5  
  
The now familiar scene faded in around him, like water washing over a canvas to reveal a hidden painting under years of mud. Blinking he found himself standing within the cabin, dim morning light shining in through the window. He swore the scene was more realistic each time; this time he could smell the sharp smell of pine and cedar from outside the cabin, floating in on the soft breeze.  
  
Duo turned around and found that once again the boy was sleeping on the cot, his face to the wall as he was curled into a tight but comfortable ball. Duo approached the boy cautiously, his feet crunching the loose pieces of dirt across the packed floor. Odd, he didn't remember being barefoot in his other dreams. Holding his breath he reached out and touched the boy's shoulder.   
  
As his hand touched the scene flashed a deep blue for a split second and the boy disappeared, the single blanket drifting to the cot like a feather through the air. Duo spun around to see the boy standing behind him, watching him with a confused look.  
  
Duo's heart skipped a beat in surprise. The boy was actually looking at him, interacting with him! In all the other dreams the boy had always been oblivious of his presence, ignoring him or just not seeing him. But now the boy was looking at him, in fact Duo watched the boy's deep blue eyes travel over him, the look of confusion very apparent on his face.  
  
"Y-you… you're awake." Duo squeaked out.  
  
Deep blue eyes flickered to Duo's face, but otherwise the boy's expression remained confused. After a moment he nodded.  
  
"Who are you?" Duo whispered softly. "Why do I keep seeing you every night?"  
  
Duo watched in frozen awe as the boy lifted his hand and lightly rested it on Duo's cheek, almost in a loving motion. The skin was cold; practically dead to the touch and it made Duo shiver slightly. A small, sad smile crossed the boy's face and he pulled his hand away, taking a step back.  
  
The boy crossed the room, walking toward the door. Suddenly it slammed shut before him, a loud sound that practically made the cabin shake. Shutters crashed down over the windows, locking out the sunlight and leaving the two standing in darkness. The sounds of crackling and voices whispered up around them, growing steadily louder with each second. Duo's breath quickened as the familiar panic swept through his body.  
  
No, not again.  
  
The boy whirled around and his eyes locked with Duo's. "Leave." He spoke the one word, his voice angry and yet pleading at the same time. Smoke began to seep under the door behind him, filling the room like a deadly mist.  
  
"I…"  
  
"You don't need to live through this again."  
  
"But you… you'll burn."  
  
A sad look crossed the boy's face and he shook his head. "Please leave," his voice took on a more urgent tone, soft and sad.  
  
"I don't want to leave you." Duo whispered stepping closer as the smoke filled the room around them and burned his throat. He coughed loudly and clutched his throat as it burned his throat. He eyes stung and his mind screamed at him to leave, but instead he kept moving toward the boy, reaching out toward him.  
  
The boy's hands lifted and grabbed onto Duo's, that deathly cold skin sending a shock through his system. Duo gasped as the boy shoved him backward with all his strength.  
  
Suddenly Duo was soaring backward. Closing his eyes and curling his body up he waited for the impact with the cabin wall…  
  
But none came.  
  
His eyes snapped open and Duo found himself lying in his room on his bed. He gasped for air and was treated to a sharp pain as his dry throat sucked in the air too quickly. Covering his mouth he coughed in pain and rubbed his eyes, only to find them wet with tears.  
  
Sitting up slowly he glanced around the room for some semblance of time. How long had he been sleeping? Trowa was no where to be found and small slits of fading sunlight shown in through a small crack in the curtain. Massaging his throat and wiping away the remainder of the tears he stood up and headed for the bedroom door. Opening it slowly he found the small living room dark and quiet. He glanced around the room in question until he finally found what he was looking for.  
  
Trowa sat on one of the old padded chairs, curled up comfortably with a thick textbook in hand. An empty plate sat in front of him, speaking of a quiet dinner and a good book. What better way to spend the night? Smiling Duo walked over and took the book from Trowa's sleeping hands. Marking the page carefully he set it on the table and laid a blanket over his adopted brother, tucking it around his shoulders.  
  
Leaving Trowa to sleep soundly, Duo made his way to the kitchen and found a Tupperware container with the other half of the dinner Trowa had made. Grabbing a fork he retreated silently back to the bedroom. Flicking on the overhead light he sat on the floor near the window, eating and carefully regarding the story outline he'd been pondering.  
  
He finished up the dinner quickly and left it sitting in the corner with his notebook, then crawled back into bed. This time he slipped off into a light, dreamless sleep with a small smile on his face.  
  
He didn't know why but he was happy the boy had finally spoken to him and taken notice of his presence. It didn't even bother him that the boy seemed to recognize him, after all the boy was only a creation of Duo's imagination wasn't he? So of course he'd recognize him.  
  
To Duo's surprise he slept the rest of the night without any dreams of burning. He would have to remember to thank the boy for shoving him out of the dream and letting him get his first good night's sleep in a long time.  
  
**  
  
Dear Uncle,  
  
I got your letter along with the sketch. I'm at a loss however as to how the sketch figures in to all of this, but I'm not going to forget about it and I'll keep looking.   
  
Surprisingly, even though this is my first week or so here I've had amazing luck. Within a day of showing up in town I ran across the name we've been looking for, Heero Yuy. As it turns out he's a very popular amateur writer in this town and photocopies of his unpublished books belong to many people. However he is very hard to find… or so people say. I suspect and have good reason to believe that Heero Yuy is merely a pen name for another student who attends classes, named Duo Maxwell. This is mostly just a hunch, but of all the people I've met Duo seems to know the most about this elusive author so it would make sense.  
  
I wonder, is the name Duo Maxwell linked in any way with Heero's? Could you check on that one?  
  
Also, I found that the name Barton is quite common in this area. This may or may not figure into things but I figure it's worth remembering just in case.  
  
Other then that the graveyard search turned up nothing, and frequent library searches have been equally depressing. I am going to concentrate on hunting down the author and see where that takes me. Hopefully I'll run across a few other leads to follow while I'm at it.  
  
Oh, and something strange to note that you might be interested in. I witnessed Duo getting angry at another student the other day and I swear his eyes shifted color. Generally they are a light violet, but for that one day they were a dark icy blue. It could have been a trick of the light but I am reasonably sure I wasn't imagining things. The outburst itself was very unlike his character, he doesn't seem like the type to get so angry over such a small sounding disagreement. But then again I could be just imagining things. Anyway, I thought you would be interested in that little tidbit.  
  
That's about it from me and I don't have much time to write anything else any way. I've made a good set of friends already up here and I was invited to a party at Marimeia Barton's house. I would write more but I'll wait until I have more time and possibly find more information. In the meantime don't loose yourself in that huge empty house of yours, it must be lonely since I'm not hanging around there any more.  
  
Write back soon,  
Quatre  
  
Quatre signed the letter and set the pen down. Reading it over quickly, to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything he folded up the letter and slipped it into an envelope that was already addressed. Sealing the envelope he leaned back in the chair and massaged his temples.   
  
Well, first part done. It was Saturday and his first week in this new town was officially over, with better results then he could have hoped. But still, these new results only brought up more questions, not to mention that he also had homework to deal with. The classes at this school were taking time to get used to, so different from home schooling. He sighed and stared lazily up at the blank ceiling. He knew he would have a lot of work to do starting tomorrow, just on the homework side of things, and he wasn't looking forward to it.   
  
A gentle knock sounded on the door and Quatre turned his head slightly. "Yeah?"  
  
"Quatre," the old lady said through the door. "Your friend is here."  
  
Quatre nodded to himself and sat back up. Standing he reached high in the air until he heard his back crack, then started toward the door. As an after thought he grabbed the envelope with him and left the room, heading down the stairs.  
  
He found Duo waiting at the door with a bright grin on his face. Quatre grinned back and left with him for the party at Marimeia's house.  
  
**  
  
The two boys found the party in full swing by the time they got there. The party itself was pretty standard as they go among teenagers. Marimeia's parents were gone for the weekend and had actually given their daughter permission to have a party, or so she said, as long as the house was cleaned by the time they got back. So, naturally, she invited half the school.   
Her house was one of the largest on the block, three stories with a huge gated yard and a pool in the back. It was painted a mossy green, the type of color only a married couple would like, and most certainly their kids would detest. Still, the inside of the house, along with the outside, showed a significant amount of taste and wasn't anywhere near cluttered. In fact one could almost call the decorating style spacey, in a good way.  
  
The night swept up the two boys and the rest of the party-goers into a large mix of dancing to techno music, talking, drinking non-alcoholic drinks, playing strange games and just lounging around.  
  
Duo eventually found himself dropping onto a couch in Marimeia's living room after an exceedingly interesting game of twister. Twister by itself was interesting, but playing it as the only guy around a bunch of giggly girls who had had too much caffeine and weren't stopping anytime soon… he couldn't help but smile. It had been a blast, but it was also exhausting.  
  
Dropping onto the couch he opened a can of pop and just decided to sit there and relax for a while as the others had their fun. He closed his eyes for a moment and heaved a sigh of relief, completely relaxing. However, that relaxation was frozen when he smelt something familiar in the air. Duo's hand clutched tightly around the can of pop, bending the thin aluminum, and his eyes snapped open.  
  
Smoke.  
  
His eyes flew wildly around the living room, searching for the source of the smell. He was just imagining it, he had to be, but his mind was already starting to fly into panic mode. Setting down the can of pop with a trembling hand on the table beside the couch he clutched onto the couch instead, trying to keep himself calm. Taking a few deep breaths didn't help, instead they only reaffirmed that he could smell it in the air, there was smoke.   
  
Holding the couch as if his life depended on it he slowly forced his body to turn around and look behind him. Not to his surprise he found a group of about three teens crouching by the fireplace, trying to start a fire with a set of matches. One of them, a girl, was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and shivering from the apparently cold air. Duo's body trembled as they lit the match finally and tossed it into a pile of crumpled up newspapers in the fireplace, the papers flaring up almost instantly. At that moment the girl turned to look at Duo in surprise and concern.  
  
It was like Duo had been physically slapped and his body shuddered violently. His mind spun and he couldn't take his eyes off the flickering and dancing flames in the fireplace. He knew he was going to start panicking or going into shock any moment and he had to get out of there. Forcing himself he stood up on shaky legs and bolted for the nearest door, not caring who he hit on the way there. He just knew he had to get out, had to get out before he completely lost it. Had to run. Had to leave. Get away. Get away to where it was safe.  
  
**  
  
"Duo?! Wha- ah!" Marimeia cried out as Duo rushed past her, knocking her to the ground, hard. She landed flat on her bottom, her shoulder hitting the door frame and she winced. Holding her shoulder she stared after the braided boy as he rushed out the front door and into the night. Frowning in confusion she stood up and looked into the room where he'd come from, her eyes immediately settling on the guilty trio by the fire place. Her eyes narrowed and she forgot about her smarting shoulder, instead anger grew inside her and she marched over to them.  
  
"What the hell did you three think you were doing?!" She screamed, using her drink to put out the fire in the fireplace. "You know how his parents died, hell the whole town knows and you still did that?!"  
  
The boy holding the matches let them slide out of his hand and bit his lower lips while the other shook his head. "We didn't see him there," the second offered feebly. The girl beside them merely kept hugging her shoulders from the cold and stared out the doorway, the way Duo had disappeared.  
  
"Shit!" Marimeia swore loudly, silencing whatever conversation was left in the room. Trowa and Quatre poked their heads into the room from her outburst, looking around in question. Marimeia just sighed heavily and leaned against the brick fireplace.  
  
"Mari?" Trowa asked softly. "What happened?"  
  
"They lit a fire in the same room as Duo, that's what happened! He disappeared like a bat out of hell into the night. He could be halfway across town by now." She ran a nervous hand through her hair and flashed Trowa a helpless look.  
  
But Trowa didn't answer her. Instead he set his drink down quickly and grabbed his coat, racing out the door at top speed. He completely forgot about the party and all the people there. Duo had disappeared and now Duo was his top priority, nothing else mattered until he knew Duo was safe.  
  
Rushing out into the street he ran to the crossroads, quickly throwing his jacket over his shoulder and racing out of the cul-de-sac that Marimeia's house sat in. Glancing quickly in both directions he chose one and kept going, dropping into a light jog as not to tire out. As he ran his mind flew, running over possibilities, trying to think of all the places Duo might have gone. He paused for a moment under a street lamp to catch his breath and reevaluate his choices.  
  
"Trowa!"  
  
Trowa glanced behind him and found Quatre racing up behind him. Quatre stopped a few steps behind him and rest his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I… figured… I'd help… you look," he said as he hungrily swallowed up air. "Jeez you run fast, you ever thought of joining track?"  
  
Trowa couldn't help but flash a light smile despite the bad circumstances. "Adrenaline helps. This way."  
  
Setting off at a brisk walk the two moved down the street. Trowa's sharp eyes scanned the roads and alleys around them, scrutinizing everything they passed until he was sure there was no sign of Duo. Quatre tried to look as well but it didn't take him long to realize that Trowa probably saw much more then he did. So he dropped into just looking and trying to think of other places where Duo could have gone in town.  
  
Eventually the two found themselves near an older area of town. The streets were noticeably dirtier and huddled figures dressed in thick layers of old clothing hobbled by and sat on the street corners. Quatre blinked at the change of scenery and, as a result, nearly tripped over a man lying on the ground. Recovering quickly he jumped over the sleeping body and moved closer to Trowa. The problem was he didn't notice Trowa had stopped moving and as a result bumped into his back. Quatre quickly jumped back a step.  
  
"Sorry," he murmured.  
  
Glancing around uneasily he took stock of where they were. The atmosphere was quite different from the stretch of the city which surrounded their school. Everything around them seemed dirtier, dustier, darker and more bleak. Rubbing his nose absentmindedly Quatre followed Trowa's gaze.   
  
Trowa was watching a small patch of land, scorched deep black. Ruins of a foundation could be seen under the burnt remains of wood and personal belongings. An old dead tree marked the burnt remains with its long empty and gnarled branches, much like a natural marker forbidding entrance to a sad place. Quatre blinked.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
Trowa stepped forward, toward the old ruins with a blank look on his face, but his eyes held a sad expression in the moonlight. "Duo's old house," he murmured softly.   
  
"What… what happened to it?"  
  
Trowa knelt down beside the burnt pile and moved away what was left of one of the darkened support beams, to reveal a book, of which there was nothing left but the roasted bindings. "A fire started, in the kitchen they think, and his parents were trapped in the basement. My father got him out, but…" Trowa stood up and let his sentence hang in the air, not willing to say any more. Nothing more needed to be said. Quatre figured out the rest for himself.  
  
"Oh," he responded softly. Suddenly the night air felt colder and he hugged himself for warmth. Glancing around he tried to think of something to say, but instead his eyes settled on a shadowy figure standing near the old dead tree. Quatre turned completely and blinked.   
  
The boy who stood near the tree was about Quatre's height, maybe a little taller. He stood in a sad sort of stance, half standing and half leaning against the tree as he gazed at the burnt remains with glazed over eyes. The slight breeze ruffled his already messy short hair, making the dark strands glimmer and glint in the moonlight. Bright blue eyes stared out from under long bangs, just watching the remains and not noticing anything else. The boy looked so sad and yet not… almost as if he were confused. Quatre blinked.   
  
If it weren't for the boy's modern clothes, and if Quatre didn't know any better, he would have sworn the boy was some kind of apparition.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
The boy jerked out of his melancholy state to look at Trowa who now stood a few feet away from the boy. The boy's bright blue eyes watched Trowa cautiously but otherwise he didn't respond.  
  
"Did you see someone pass by here? With a long brown braid?"  
  
The boy shook his head slowly. Then his eyes drifted back to the burnt ruins, almost as if they were drawn by some unseen force or urge.   
  
Quatre ventured to take a few steps closer to the strange boy, but never got the chance. For as soon as he started moving the boy seemed to break out of his trance once more and shoved his hands in his jean pockets. Giving both Trowa and Quatre a slight nod he turned away from them and walked down the street, disappearing from sight.  
  
"Strange," Trowa murmured softly.  
  
No kidding, Quatre added silently to himself.  
  
Another hour or so of searching went by with less then good results. The two looked nearly everywhere in town but there was no sign of Duo. Everyone they spoke to hadn't seen him and he'd left no clues as to his whereabouts. So, after checking nearly every corner of the town and looking under every porch the two finally headed back for Trowa's house.  
  
Trowa sighed as he walked up to the door and dug in his pocket for his keys. "Come on, the least I can do is offer you a drink or something since you helped me look."  
  
"Sorry I wasn't much help."  
  
"No, don't worry about it. You can't find Duo if he doesn't want to be…" Trowa's sentence trailed off as the door opened for him before he even got a chance to slip the key in the lock. Frowning he pushed the door open completely and took a step into the dark house. Quatre stepped in behind him and followed him all the way to the bedroom…  
  
Where they found Duo lying on his bed, sound asleep. He hadn't even bothered to take off his shoes and instead was just curled into a ball around his pillow, sleeping as soundly as most babies.   
  
Trowa blinked a few times then just smiled and shook his head. "Here the whole time?" He murmured just slightly above a whisper.  
  
Stepping away from the room, and closing the door behind them Trowa smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.   
  
"At least we know where he is." Quatre said softly.  
  
Trowa nodded. "I feel like a fool now for combing the entire town. But I'm glad he's back. Umm… you don't mind if I give you a rain-check for that drink do you?"  
  
Quatre smiled. "Not at all. Get some sleep, I'll see you on Monday at school."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
With that Quatre headed out the door. But one important fact wasn't lost on him from that night.  
  
Why were the bottom of Duo's shoes covered with ashes?  
  
** 


	6. part 6

Fire Mated  
Chapter 6  
  
Marimeia's eyes crossed over the sheet of paper before her as she switched her backpack to her other shoulder. Glancing through the office windows at the students passing through the halls she leaned against the wall and frowned. Another new student? Great, there went her weekend.  
  
She'd taken this job of showing students around the school as a favor to one of the teachers, and also because she loved meeting new people and talking to them. No one could deny that she'd met some pretty cute ones thanks to the job, Quatre being a prime example, but some days it just wore on her nerves. Besides that this time it wasn't even a guy, it was a girl. A girl by the name of Hilde S… Marimeia squinted at the last name.  
  
"Is that word even pronounceable?" She murmured softly. Shrugging to herself she turned the paper over and scanned the girl's classes. She wasn't at all surprised to find that the girl shared many of her own classes, so talking with her wouldn't be that hard. And hopefully she would be interesting, the last thing Marimeia wanted was a new student that followed her around like a home-sick puppy dog.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Marimeia lifted her eyes from the paper to look at the owner of the voice and couldn't help but flash a smile of welcome. The girl before her had short dark hair, cut close around her head with longer bangs that brushed lightly over her midnight colored eyes. Her clothes spoke of someone who paid attention to current fashion tends and yet didn't feel like wasting the money to wear them, thus she developed her own style of good looking clothes that still fit. A simple short T-shirt with a design of dark blue flames along the edges with black jeans fit her just perfectly. Marimeia couldn't help but grin; she recognized a kindred spirit when she saw one.  
  
"I'm supposed to find the person who's going to show me around." The girl stated.   
  
"I'm Marimeia, you're Hilde right?"  
  
Hilde nodded, her face turning into a frown. "Shoot," she groaned. "I was hopin' you would be a cute boy, nothing better then having a cute boy show you around. Guess I can't always be that lucky though." Hilde added with a grin, showing she was joking… sort of.  
  
Marimeia laughed. Most definitely a kindred spirit. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I am female. That doesn't mean, however, that I can't introduce you to some of the guys."  
  
"You're not worried about me being competition?" She asked with a smirk.  
  
"You don't stand a chance, but you're welcome to try."  
  
The two grinned at each other in good humor. If there were two who had become quicker friends Marimeia didn't know them. All she knew was that Hilde would be fun to hang around with. She was the kind of friend most girls asked for, someone who had a sense of humor and was enough like you that she seemed like she would understand anything. In a matter of minutes the two had just clicked, two peas in the same pod and ready to take on the entire school side by side. Marimeia didn't even try to hide her grin as she led Hilde to her class and they chatted about every subject under the sun.   
  
Life was great! Of the new students she'd shown around the school in the last two weeks they were both on her good side. Quatre was cute and reasonably good at playing hard to get, though not completely off limits, and Hilde was all she could ask for in a confident her own age. This year just kept getting better and better.  
  
**  
  
"Um… Duo."  
  
Duo glanced up from his lunch to look across at Trowa, lifting an eyebrow in question. He, Trowa and Quatre were sitting on the roof of the school building, eating together in the large fenced off area. In fact, Duo had been the one to suggest it; since the schoolyard was starting to get so full of students. Most students didn't venture to the roof, or at least didn't stay there long, since the building was so high and on windy days it was impossible to hold onto one's belongings. Though today the weather was being merciful and there was only a light breeze, the kind that made hot summer days tolerable… even enjoyable and hinted at the coming fall, which wasn't too far away.   
  
The three ate in relative silence until Trowa spoke up.   
  
"Yeah?" Duo responded, finishing off his sandwich.  
  
"What happened Saturday night?"  
  
Quatre's eyes widened slightly at Trowa's question. Trowa was generally the silent type and definitely not the type to bring up something like this around other people. But, then again Quatre had helped him look for a good portion of the night, so maybe Trowa figured that they both deserved an explanation. Either way Quatre knew when to keep his mouth shut and just listen.  
  
"Saturday night?" Duo murmured thoughtfully. He shrugged.  
  
"I mean at Marimeia's party. Why'd you rush out of there all of a sudden?"  
  
Duo frowned and took a sip of his drink. "I'm not too sure…" he murmured softly. "I guess I panicked when I saw them light the fire. It's all kind of hazy, I think I just shot up and ran." He shrugged once more, his eyes flickering to Quatre for a moment in silent question.  
  
"I helped him look for you after you ran out." Quatre answered, quickly looking back at his food. He felt uncomfortable, like he was eavesdropping on a personal conversation. He found himself wishing that Trowa hadn't brought it up in front of him.  
  
"Sorry to have worried you guys." Duo said, his voice slipping back to its normal tone. "I guess it still kind of effects me. I mean you'd think that after this many years I wouldn't be so afraid of fire…" He sighed and let the sentence just drop off, not feeling the need to state the obvious.  
  
And that was the end of that, conversation ended. No one spoke, nor did they try and change the subject, because none of them knew what to change it too. No topics of interest popped up and they just ate on in silence, listening to the muffled echoes of the students far below them in the schoolyard. Oddly it all seemed too far away from them, like echoes of another world. Echoes of something they weren't quite part of.   
  
"There you are!"   
  
A familiar cheery voice shattered the silence as Marimeia opened the main door and stepped out onto the roof, pausing in her steps to run a hand through her short red hair. "We've been looking all over for you guys! Why'd you decided to hide all the way up here?"  
  
"Heya Mari!" Duo said with a grin and waved. Immediately the awkward silence was gone without a trace, almost as if Duo's bright greeting had completely scared it away. Quatre actually breathed a small sigh of relief. He'd never thought a roof could feel so cramped.  
  
Marimeia grinned. "You three aren't trying to hide from us, are you?"  
  
Quatre snickered. "Of course not."  
  
"Like I would ever try to hide from my beautiful cousin." Duo said, painting a fake smile of innocence across his face.   
  
"We?" Trowa asked in question.  
  
Marimeia smirked. "That's right. I've got someone to introduce to all of you." Taking a step to the side she allowed someone else to step out on to the roof. Hilde took the invitation and did so, smiling at the group. "Meet Hilde, she just transferred here."  
  
Trowa nodded a greeting while Quatre smiled. Duo said nothing.  
  
In fact, Duo's violet eyes met Hilde's and suddenly, at least to Quatre, the roof seemed very cramped again. He suppressed the strange need to shiver as Duo finished off the rest of his drink in slow, very calculated movements.  
  
"I know you three, you were all at Mari's party last Saturday." Hilde said with a cheerful smile. She didn't seem to notice the strange change in Duo at all, either that or she noticed it and it didn't bug her. However, after a moment a frown did cross her face, her eyes flickering to Duo. "And I wanted to apologize, I guess. I was the one who asked them to start the fire, I was cold. I didn't realize-"  
  
"Forget it."  
  
Duo's voice came out cold and sharp, an icy phrase that made Hilde freeze mid-sentence. She took a step back without even realizing it, her eyes widening just slightly. Duo's face was no where near its normal cheerful self; instead it had dropped into a blank expression, locking off his feelings on the matter from the rest of the world. The blankness was cold, almost dead as he stuffed the rest of his lunch back in the bag with his garbage and stood up. Picking up his backpack he pulled it onto one shoulder and headed for the door, his eyes still locked on Hilde in that dead stare.  
  
At the last moment he stepped off to the side and pushed past her, moving down the stairs at a quick, but yet not hurried pace. All four just stared after him in surprise and confusion.  
  
"What is with him lately?" Marimeia fumed. "Trowa, he's been acting really strange ever since about a week ago… did something happen…" Marimeia's voice trailed off as Trowa quickly turned his head and stared out over the courtyard.   
  
"I should go… you know, find my class so I don't get lost." Hilde murmured, inching for the door.  
  
"I'll help, I can show you where it is." Quatre said quickly jumping to his own feet. Gathering his things he and Hilde both vacated the area as quickly as they could. Both knew when to take a hint on this one, and they knew this was a private conversation.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
Trowa stood up and turned completely away from his cousin, his gaze turning out to look at the students scattered across the lawn below. He couldn't help but watch them, his emerald eyes noticing all the happy couples sitting together. Their hands clasped… their faces shining with smiles. He felt his throat twist slightly in pain but gave no sign other then his fingers wrapping tightly around the twisted metal coils.  
  
Marimeia's hand touched his shoulder, resting there lightly. "Something did happen, didn't it?"  
  
He swallowed and nodded, very slowly.  
  
"Please tell me. I know we're two completely different people… heck sometimes I can't even believe I'm related to you, we're so different. But you can trust me Trowa, I swear you can."  
  
Trowa shut his eyes tightly, the pain in his throat twisting more as he tasted the rising tears. No, he refused to cry, there was no reason to. His other hand clasped onto the metal fence, both sets of fingers wrapping around the cold metal until his knuckles grew white. He felt his body tremble once as he drew a shaky breath, trying to calm himself. He willed the words out, but they barely came, his voice only a soft whisper, nearly swallowed by the warm breeze around them.  
  
"I fell in love with him, Mari… I love my own brother."  
  
Marimeia's eyes widened in disbelief and her hand dropped away from Trowa's shoulder, raising to cover her mouth in shock. "You can't be… you love… oh god."  
  
His hands tightened around the fence even more, the fresh memory of Duo's reaction flashing through his mind. The memory was so vivid that for a moment he could have sworn his cheek stung, but then the small pain was gone, leaving only the twisting and turning knot that had moved to his stomach.  
  
"And you told him." Marimeia whispered softly.  
  
Trowa nodded.  
  
"And that's why he slapped you that day," she whispered, even softer.   
  
"I ruined everything," Trowa choked out softly. "I should never have told him. I should have left things be."  
  
"Trowa Barton don't you dare blame yourself for this!"  
  
Trowa's eyes snapped open in surprise and he slowly turned his head, glancing over his shoulder at his cousin. She now stood there, her hands on her hips and a very serious expression on her face. She frowned deeply at him.   
  
"Don't you dare!" She said sharply.  
  
"No, it is my fault."  
  
"Trowa!" Grabbing his shoulder she forced him to turn and face her, yet still he turned his face away. She sighed and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Now you listen to me cousin, and listen good. Don't you dare belittle yourself for feeling something like this. There is nothing wrong with loving a person. There is never anything wrong with being in love."  
  
"But he's my brother, I can't-"  
  
"Duo is not your brother. You two are not related. You were simply raised in the same house, and you know as well as I do that there is nothing wrong with that. If Duo feels uncomfortable because of it then that's something he needs to deal with. He shouldn't be taking it out on others. And it is not your fault for telling him how you really feel. If nothing else I would fault you for not having told him sooner. There is nothing worse then lying to yourself."  
  
Trowa closed his eyes and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. If I hadn't of said anything…"  
  
"If you hadn't of said anything to him your life would be even more miserable, and you know it. How hard was it to live in the same house as him? Sleeping in the same room as him, for god's sake, and not being able to say something? That had to be awkward! Would you go back to that and nearly killing yourself with guilt every night? I know you Trowa, I know you'd let your guilt eat away at you until you were an empty shell and don't you dare deny it! You're just like your father on that one. I know guilt was a major part of the reason he adopted Duo, I know that. You can't let it eat at you. Trust me, if you hadn't have told him you would have blown up or he would have found out eventually and things would have only gotten worse."  
  
He sighed. Trowa knew she was right. For all the times that Marimeia may have acted like a teenage airhead or a loud mouth she was usually right.   
  
"You can't blame yourself for this," she whispered softly.  
  
"What am I supposed to do?" He murmured back. His eyes drifted down to look at his own hands, which he held in a helpless gesture. "So I told him, but what am I supposed to do now?"  
  
Marimeia smiled softly and hugged her cousin, wrapping her arms around him in the comforting embrace that one can only get from a family member. "Don't worry about it so much. Duo's probably still in shock over the fact, just like you. Things will clear up, I'm sure. You just have to be patient."  
  
Nodding to her and to himself he hugged her back.  
  
"Now, get to class before you're late. You've got a test today don't you?"  
  
Both cousins pulled out of the hug and Marimeia stood there silently with a small smile on her face as she watched Trowa grab his stuff and head down the stairs toward his class. Once he was out of sight her smile slid away to a serious look.  
  
Well, that finally explained everything. Trowa telling Duo about his feelings explained Duo's strange mood lately perfectly. Especially the strange mood swing he'd had when she confronted him by the lockers. And it also explained Hilde, Duo was just probably over stressed. Yes… that had to be it.  
  
Sighing to herself she headed off to her own class. As she walked she made a mental note not to use her tactic again. She was so used to pretending Duo and Trowa were a couple, and mentioning it to other boys to find out what their orientation was, that she'd never actually considered it to be a possibility. She couldn't help but give a sad smile at that thought.  
  
Who would have ever thought that little fib she'd told Quatre during his first day of school would actually be the truth?  
  
**  
  
Duo dropped his book-bag on the floor and fell backward, flopping onto his bed with a great sigh. He didn't care that Trowa was in the living room and could hear him, he didn't care about anything at the moment. Rolling on his side so his back was to the door he slid one arm under his pillow and halfway hugged it, staring blankly at the wall. Staring blankly at the of-white wall his mind wandered and swam around. Closing his eyes he tried to shut it all out, tried to quiet his thoughts but it didn't work, they just kept spinning around and around and around…  
  
First the fire in his dreams, the constant dreams that had attacked him since the day both his parents had died. Those dreams never stopped, always returning, always with something burning. Always that same strange boy burning in his cabin. Always the screams. Always the smoke.  
  
Then Trowa telling him that he was in love… Duo frowned. As if he didn't have enough to worry about in his life with school and his annoying dreams and writing his stories. But now… now he found himself watching Trowa.   
  
At first it was just something normal. He would find himself staring off into space or even at Trowa pondering how Trowa could have actually fallen in love with him. It wasn't that he disapproved of homosexual relationships, of course not! He was very open minded about them, or so he thought. But this was completely different! He'd always thought of Trowa as his actual brother. He didn't want to tarnish his memories of his adopted brother.  
  
But at the same time he couldn't help but wonder. And he wondered far too often now. What was it about him that Trowa had fallen in love with? And how did he really feel about Trowa? He knew he could tell himself over and over again that Trowa was only his brother and there was nothing else… but now he doubted even himself.  
  
What if what he thought was brotherly affection was something more?  
  
Duo rolled onto his stomach and groaned softly into the pillow.   
  
No! Damn it! No!  
  
Trowa was just his brother!   
  
"Why does it have to be so confusing?" He murmured to himself, his soft voice swallowed by the thick pillow.   
  
How did life suddenly get so complicated? It all seemed so simple before his birthday, so normal. Not always happy and not always perfect but it had been normal. He used to hate that normalcy, always using writing and his pen name as an escape from the normal things he always thought were boring.  
  
Now he just wanted it all back.  
  
He wanted to go back to his normal school life, where Trowa was his adopted brother and everything was fine and dandy.   
  
Closing his eyes tightly he curled his body around the pillow and shut out the entire world. He just wanted to sleep. He wanted to relax, sleep and not worry about anything. A night of freedom where his whirling and confused mind shut down and finally gave him some peace.  
  
Even that strange dream would comfort him, he knew that. It was like an old friend, returning without fail, no matter what his life was like. Maybe he could hide there like he hid in his stories. Maybe he could hide from the world there on a nightly basis. Running from a burning cabin seemed so much easier then dealing with mixed emotions.  
  
When sleep finally did sweep over his body it was a very welcome escape. And if Duo could have, he would have welcomed it with open arms and a grin on his face.  
  
**  
  
The house around her was empty and deserted, the large decorated rooms looming above her with deep shadows around every corner. But it wasn't something that scared her, in fact the silence and darkness was relaxing to her mind. The perfect opposite to a long day of school full of talkative friends and bland monotone teachers.  
  
Still… she couldn't deny that her parent's huge house was more often then not very lonely.  
  
Marimeia dropped her things in the entryway, her book bag and jacket falling to a pile on the floor over her shoes. Normally she would have placed them nicely in the closet, but she knew her parents weren't home to complain so she just left them. For a moment she considered leaving them there for when her parents did get home, but no. She wasn't like that.  
  
Sighing softly she made her way through the dark house to the kitchen, intent on finding something for dinner that only involved running the microwave. She hated to cook.  
  
Her parents always seemed to be away doing something. She knew Barton was a very big last name to have and Barton Towers was quite a large company in the next city over but that didn't mean she had to like it. Thanks to their jobs her parents traveled far too often. What was the point of being able to afford a huge house if you were never home to enjoy it? Most kids would love this much freedom but Marimeia hated it. In the end the only real reason she had large parties at her house so often was a lame attempt to fill the empty hallways and room with life and noise, something the house almost never saw.  
  
"Maybe I should just stay over at Trowa's house tomorrow night or something."  
  
Despite the fact that Trowa was her cousin his family was almost the polar opposites of hers. Granted they shared the same last name, but Trowa's father and mother were not members of the family company. They had their own job which caused them to spend months at a time overseas. In reality they came home less often then Mari's parents did, but she still envied Trowa. At least he had a brother to live with him.  
  
"Or better yet," she murmured to herself, stepping into the kitchen. She hadn't turned on a single light on her way through the halls. She liked the dark and besides, she knew the house layout well enough she could have walked through it blindfolded.   
  
"Maybe I'll invite Hilde over for a few nights. We could stay up, order pizza and watch bad chick flicks."  
  
Pulling open the refrigerator door she frowned. The bulb had burnt out again and she could barley make out the food before her with the light shining in through the window from the outdoor pool. Squinting she moved a few packages around, her fingers crossing over Tupperware and aluminum foil. In reality she didn't need any light to see what was in the fridge, it was always the same. Leftovers from take out meals because she hated to cook, and enough fixings to make a reasonably easy meal for school.   
  
It took several minutes but she finally realized there was nothing new and interesting in the fridge and settled for a box of leftover fried rice and a can of pop. Pulling the white container and can out of the fridge she dropped them onto the table and went hunting for eating utensils.  
  
As she was grabbing a fork from the drawer she could have sworn she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. Spinning around quickly she turned to face the window, only to find the pool light outside glowing lightly and giving the water a hazy surreal look. Shrugging to herself she sat back down at the table and started to eat at the rice, not even bothering to warm it up.  
  
It was about that time that she started to notice a strange scent in the air. It wasn't over powering, if fact it was barley noticeable, at first. But once she noticed it she couldn't forget it. It made her nose sting and itch and she noted she was starting to get a small headache. Frowning to herself she glanced around the dark and empty kitchen for the source.  
  
It didn't smell like burnt or rotten food, the scent was different. Not sweet or citrusy, more sharp…  
  
Standing up she wandered toward the door to the kitchen, her hand searching for the light switch. She froze however when she recognized a soft hissing sound.  
  
The hissing of the gas stove.  
  
Marimeia's eyes widened and her hand froze, a breath away from hitting the switch. She knew what she was smelling now, gas from the stove. She quickly pulled her hand away and stepped backward, far away from the light switch. Gas from the stove, it must have a leak. If she had turned the light switch she might have made a spark and blown the entire room up.  
  
Swallowing hard she inched away from the stove, her mind rationally trying to figure out what to do. She knew she had to get out of the house, it was too dangerous. But she didn't have time.  
  
In a matter of seconds many things happened at once and she barely even had time to blink.  
  
Movement behind her.  
  
The snap of a match.  
  
Bright, burning light.  
  
A force slamming into her.  
  
Screaming.  
  
Glass breaking.  
  
Water.  
  
Darkness.  
  
end of part 6 


	7. part 7

Chapter 7  
  
Trowa awoke to a loud, persistent sound crashing into his dreams. Groaning softly he rolled over in the thick quilts and fumbled on the bedside table. Where was it? Stop the stupid noise, he wanted sleep! His fingers came across the alarm clock and hit the correct button after much fumbling, but the noise didn't stop. Angrily he yanked on the radio-clock muttering incoherent words and threats at the small piece. Still the noise persisted.   
  
Sitting up he ran his hand through his bangs, pushing them away from his eyes and glanced around the room. After about the fourth ring the sound finally became clear to him. It wasn't his alarm clock, it was his phone! Rolling out of the bed, struggling for only a moment to free his legs then he stumbled across the room to where the phone was. Picking it up he hit the on button.  
  
"Hello?" He mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Mr. Trowa Barton?"  
  
Trowa blinked and stifled a small yawn. "Yeah, who is this?"  
  
"Are you related to Ms. Marimeia Barton?"  
  
Trowa rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and made a significant effort to wake up. What was going on? What time was it? "Yeah, she's my cousin. Who is this?"  
  
"This is the county hospital, sir. Your cousin was brought in about half an hour ago."  
  
With those words Trowa was immediately awake and he nearly dropped the receiver. Holding the cordless phone between his shoulder and ear he hurried around the room, grabbing a pair of slightly wrinkled jeans from the floor and a T-shirt from the closet. "Is she all right? What happened to her?"  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, I was only asked to call her relatives since her family is out of town. We request that you come to the hospital, we'll explain everyth-"  
  
"I'm on my way!" Trowa hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket racing for the front door. He paused for a moment as he remembered Duo. Somewhere along the line during the short phone conversation he'd noticed that Duo wasn't in his bed. Had he gone for a walk or something?  
  
There wasn't any time to answer that question!  
  
Grabbing a blank sheet of paper he scrawled out a message and left it sitting on the kitchen table, where he knew his brother would see it. Then he raced out the door and down the street. He didn't have a car to get around town with but he really didn't need one. The hospital wasn't that far since the entire town was a relatively small size. Not much farther then a couple blocks, he'd be there in no time.   
  
**  
  
"My name is Trowa Barton, I'm here to see my cousin, Marimeia." He said quickly to the lady behind the front desk at the hospital. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself from the run to the hospital but otherwise paid no attention to his condition. The run hadn't helped ease his mind, it had only served to make his brain fly with possible scenarios of what could have happened. By the time he reached the hospital he was in a near panic and it was all he could do to pretend to be calm. But he needed to see her, needed to know what happened.  
  
The nurse simply nodded and pointed for him to go down the hall, telling him a room number. Trowa didn't stand there for any longer but immediately took off at a quick walk down the hall, straight for the room.  
  
Upon reaching the door he pushed it open, only to near bump into a tall and older man in a white jacket. The man frowned down at him and gently pushed him out of the room, letting the door shut behind him. It took a few seconds for Trowa's still sleep-jumbled mind to recognize the man as a doctor.  
  
"You must be…" He glanced at his clipboard. "Trowa? You were the only member of family we were able to contact in the area."  
  
He nodded. "Her parents often take business trips. Is she all right? What happened to her?"  
  
The doctor flashed him a soft smile and led him to the bench sitting outside the room, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "First, you need to calm down, I assure you she will be fine. But at the moment she is sleeping and it won't do any good to wake her."  
  
Trowa took another deep breath to calm himself and nodded, sitting down. It took some effort but he forced himself to wait patiently while the doctor explained.  
  
"She was brought in with several burns and cuts filled with glass shards. I inquired with the ambulance that brought her but they didn't give me very much information. Apparently a gas line leaked and she was thrown through a window into her back swimming pool by the blast. From what I understand she's very lucky there was a swimming pool in her backyard or she wouldn't be in nearly as good of condition as she is now. "  
  
He fumbled through a few papers on his clipboard. "But, be that as it may, she'll be fine. The burns are minor and the cuts will heal, we've managed to take out nearly all of the glass shards and bandage her up. Give her some time to heal and she should be fine, nothing to get all worried about."  
  
Trowa let out a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his sleep-matted hair, his panic fading. "When can I see her?"  
  
"Hmm, well we'll have to check on the bandages soon and run a few blood tests, standard stuff. I'd say in about half an hour, depending on how soon she wakes up. I need you to wait out in the lobby since we're going to transfer her to another room and I will come and get you as soon as she's awake. Deal?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Watching the doctor wave down another nurse and lead her back into the room Trowa finally forced himself to move and head for the lobby. As he walked the panic completely faded, along with his burst of adrenaline, leaving him weary and his legs aching from the run. Upon reaching the lobby he very nearly collapsed into one of the chairs and just lounged there, letting his body rest and collect his thoughts.  
  
A gas leak? She was thrown through a window? Closing his eyes he imagined her house and frowned as his mind worked out the possible scenario with what little clues he had. But he couldn't concentrate; he was too tired.   
  
Luckily it was at that moment that Duo decided to step into the lobby and look around. Trowa caught his brother's gaze and waved him over, sitting up in the chair and making an attempt to appear awake and relaxed… he failed on both accounts.  
  
"Trowa? What happened? Why are you here at the hospital? You're note didn't say anything!"  
  
"Marimeia was hurt. The doctor said she'd be fine."  
  
Duo's eyes widened and he slowly dropped down into the chair beside Trowa. "Wh-what happened?"  
  
He shook his head. "I don't know. The doctor said she was thrown through her back window into the pool by an explosion." He leaned forward and rested his face in his hands, fighting between the newly rising panic and the fatigue still flowing through his body. And to make things worse his head was starting to ache from the stress and lack of sleep. He closed his eyes and made another effort to calm down.  
  
"Can we see her?"  
  
"No. The doctor said he'd come and get us when we could."  
  
Duo sighed and his hands curled into fists. He hated to wait. Trowa was so much more patient then him, but to see his brother acting like this, he could only imagine the toll it was taking on Trowa. He knew Trowa and Marimeia weren't much closer then just friends but still, they were related! He hated seeing Trowa so worried and stressed.   
  
Timidly he reached a hand over and hugged his brother close, leaning over the armrest. Trowa didn't object, but merely sat in Duo's arms, concentrating on keeping his stress and panic down.   
  
"They said she'd be ok, so she'll be fine. Don't worry. How long did he say it would be?"  
  
"'Bout half an hour."  
  
"All right then, you get some sleep. You're exhausted, I can tell. You can use my shoulder as a pillow and then just go to sleep. I promise I'll wake you as soon as the doctor shows up or even if someone mentions her name. Ok? But you're about ready to collapse."  
  
Reluctantly Trowa nodded and hesitantly rested his head on Duo's shoulder, curling up into the chair into a more comfortable position. "You don't mind?" he murmured, sleep already reaching toward him.  
  
"Not at all. Brothers are supposed to lend their shoulders, aren't they?" Duo grinned at Trowa but didn't get a response. The emerald-eyed boy had already drifted into a light sleep.  
  
Duo smiled softly to himself and leaned back slowly in the chair, careful not to wake him. Closing his own eyes he sat in the chair quietly, his arms resting at his sides. Silently he hoped it wouldn't be a long wait.  
  
**  
  
"Trowa Barton?"  
  
Duo's eyes snapped open from his light doze and he glanced at the tall doctor standing in the doorway with a clipboard in hand. Beside him Trowa also woke up, rubbing his eyes. Immediately he looked toward the doctor, but his face didn't show any panic. It was amazing how much a half an hour of sleep could change someone. With only that much sleep Trowa had dropped back to his normal manner of hiding his emotions and remaining relatively calm. Nodding to the doctor he stood up.  
  
"She's awake, you may see her now."  
  
**  
  
Marimeia sat in the tilted bed, an IV running into her arm beneath a thick set of bandages that covered several stitches. Several other bandages dotted her body under the hospital garbs, speaking of many stitches and cuts, but not too many burns. Her eyes roamed the room silently as she sat there, waiting and looking around. It was odd that none of the cuts or burns really hurt, everything was dulled by drugs, a soft haze floating through her mind. But at least she was ok, right?  
  
She turned her head as the door opened, shining in the bright light from the hallway. It took a few moments for her eyes to focus completely on who walked toward her bed. But when she did recognize him she smiled; though her face protested.  
  
"Hey you," she said softly.  
  
Trowa flashed his own soft smile and sat down in the chair next to her. "You tried to cook yourself dinner didn't you?"  
  
Marimeia laughed. Her cousin's jokes were so rare, but when he did make them they always made her feel a hundred times better. "Ha ha, you know my cooking isn't that bad. Least it doesn't usually blow up on itself." Her smile wilted and she pulled the covers closer, as if a sudden draft had flowed through the room.  
  
"Mari, what happened?" He asked softly.  
  
"It wasn't an accident."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
Her eyes turned to the window on the opposite side of the room, watching the dark twilight sky and the headlights of cars passing by on the wall. She curled closer together, crumpling the sheets between shaking fists. "I saw someone else in the house. I heard the gas leaking, smelled it, and then I saw someone behind me and I heard them light a match."  
  
"Mari-"  
  
"Think about it Trowa! The doctors said the firemen said I caused the explosion by flipping the light switch. But the light switch is no where near the window in the kitchen; it's on the other side of the room near the stove! I couldn't have done that; I would have died almost instantly. Someone else struck a match while I was trying to leave the kitchen. I know it. I saw them."  
  
"You saw them?" Trowa frowned. "Did you see what the person looked like?"  
  
She shook her head sadly. "It's all hazy. I know I saw someone but I can't remember… I can't remember what they looked like. Don't even remember if it's a boy or a girl, just know they were about my height…" She trailed off with a helpless look.  
  
"That's not much to go on."  
  
"I know."  
  
The door to the room opened and the doctor peeked his head in. "Mr. Barton? Visiting hours are over, she needs her rest."  
  
"One more minute."  
  
The doctor nodded and shut the door once more.  
  
"I'm scared, Trowa."  
  
Trowa nodded slowly. Standing up he leaned forward and gave his cousin a small kiss on the forehead, smoothing out her hair. "Don't worry. I swear one of us will be outside for you, at all times. You're going to be safe Mari, don't worry."  
  
"Thank you Trowa."  
  
The door closed behind him and she sighed softly, slipping down further beneath the covers. Closing her eyes she shuddered as she tried to remember the face of that strange shadow standing there and striking the match.  
  
"I wish I could believe you."  
  
**  
  
Quatre finished off his eggs from breakfast and walked over to the sink, handing the old woman his plates. She smiled at him and added them to her pile of dirty dishes she was already working through. Without a word he helped her clean up the table and straighten up the rest of the kitchen, there was still time before he had to leave for class, and he always helped her clean up. It was the least he could do to repay her kindness.  
  
The doorbell rang and Quatre quickly rushed to get it before she could bother. He smiled to himself as he headed for the door, he honestly felt like he was at home in the old lady's house. Living at his actual home had always been so strange since his family was so huge. So many sisters not to mention the nannies hired to teach and take care of them. He didn't relish coming from a rich family; it was boring to have everything done for you. He much preferred to take care of his own chores and needs, people waiting on him seemed like a waste.  
  
His smile wilted as he opened the door. Before him he found a very tired looking Duo. Chestnut colored hair was frayed in the loose braid while his shirt was rumpled and his eyes were just slightly unfocused from lack of sleep. Quatre blinked in surprise at his friend. Duo managed a fake-looking grin and a wave.  
  
"Duo! What happened?!"  
  
"Calm down, don't need to worry her." He nodded toward the kitchen where the sounds of washing dishes could be heard. "Just tired, that's all. And got a long couple of stories to tell."  
  
Quatre stepped back and let Duo enter the house. "My room's upstairs. Umm… I take it you need to talk about all of this. I can afford to live without my classes today. Wait for me up there, I'll be up in a second."  
  
Duo flashed a grateful smile and walked up the stairs, the fatigue showing quite plainly in his movements and stance. Quatre pushed aside his worry momentarily and stepped back into the kitchen. The old woman turned to look at him with a quizzical look.  
  
"Is your friend ok?"  
  
For a moment the blond stood stunned, then he laughed. Served him right to assume she couldn't hear things that happened a room away. He should have known better to think so, especially since he'd lived with his uncle so long, and that man had ears and eyes like a hawk.  
  
"Yes, I think. Actually, I'm not sure. I'm gonna talk with him upstairs…"  
  
She took a rag from the shelf and began drying her hands. "All right. If he needs anything you know where most things are. I'm going to head over to Lu's house; we have a shopping date at the store. Take care of your friend." Her watery blue eyes shifted to Quatre's face and she smiled.  
  
"Thanks for understanding."  
  
"Of course. Friends are important, more important then school grades often enough. Just remember, for future notice, that I can hear past ten feet." With a small wink she stepped past him out of the kitchen and headed for the closet and her coat. Quatre chuckled in spite of himself and shook his head. If he didn't know better he would have sworn she was related to his uncle Treize.   
  
Grabbing a couple drinks for the fridge he hurried up the stairs to his room. Pushing open the door he found Duo sitting in a chair by the window, staring out over the street. His gaze was unfocused, his mind obviously on things that couldn't be seen at the moment. Quatre closed the door behind him, letting it slam just slightly so the noise would alert Duo to his presence. He had no intention of scaring his friend.  
  
At the sound of the door shutting Duo sighed and glanced over at Quatre, his eyes focusing. Quatre sat down on the bed across from him and gave a concerned smile, handing him the drink.  
  
"You look like you missed a good night's sleep."  
  
Duo nodded and rubbed his eyes, a sure sigh of trying to stay awake. "Quatre… Marimeia's in the hospital."  
  
Quatre's eyes widened and his hand went slack, the can of pop sliding out and dropping to the floor, rolling away from them. Quatre shook off the shock in a record amount of time, recovering with a few blinks and a choked breath as he leaned forward and snatched up the can of pop. Setting it up right on the windowsill he watched Duo closely. "The hospital?" He whispered softly. "Wha-how? What happened to her?"  
  
Duo took a deep breath. "I didn't get to talk to her directly, the doctors wouldn't let me see her because she needed rest. But, from what Trowa told me, the gas stove in her house was leaking. Her kitchen exploded and she ended up in the swimming pool in the backyard, cut from head to toe and burned." He shuddered lightly. "I've been with Trowa at the hospital since early this morning."  
  
"Is she going to be all right?"  
  
He nodded slowly. "Doc's said she'd be fine in a few days. The cuts just need to heal up and her burns aren't that bad." He sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching. "I tried to sleep but couldn't. Trowa's with her at the hospital right now, refuses to leave the bench by her door. So I figured I'd hunt you down and tell you, from what I could tell you guys have become pretty good friends."  
  
"I suppose," Quatre said, his voice sounded hollow to him, he shook his head to try and shake off the odd feelings. "I mean, yeah, she's the first friend I have here, and besides you and a few other people I've met in these last two weeks about the only one." He blinked as something occurred to him. "Wait… how did you find where I lived?"  
  
That question brought a small smirk to Duo's face. "Mari had your address memorized, don't ask me why."  
  
Quatre let out a short, half-forced laugh. It figured she'd memorized his address, where he was staying. It just seemed like something she would do. He opened his mouth to comment when the phone rang out in the hallway.  
  
"Apparently today is the day for interruptions. Hold on, I'll be right back." Quatre stood up and walked into the hallway to pick up the phone. In the back of his mind he registered that Duo stood up and followed him, only to stop and just stand in the doorway patiently waiting. Quatre picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
A deep voice answered with a soft accent, barely noticeable. "Quatre? Are you all right?" The question was urgent, worried and near panic.  
  
Quatre rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm still walking and still talking and last I checked I was still breathing. Thanks for the welcome, uncle, it's nice to hear from you again too." Silently he shook his head and leaned against the wall. It figured his uncle would call just now, what perfect timing especially after Marimeia's accident… He groaned softly.  
  
"I apologize for sounding like a worried parent-"  
  
Quatre cut him off. "You rat! You have someone here watching me don't you?!" He wasn't nearly as angry or pissed off as he wanted to be. Truth was he completely expected his uncle to have someone else in the city watching him, making sure he stayed safe. It wasn't because his uncle was protective or anything, just that he liked to keep track of things. And Quatre seemed to be one of his favorite things to keep track of, aside from his obsession with ancient myths.  
  
"Can you actually blame me?" Quatre could literally hear the man's smirk.  
  
He shook his head. "No, not really, in fact I suspected you would do this. But that still doesn't mean I'm not ticked about it. Just wish you would have told me."  
  
"Well it's nothing too serious, not like I've got camera on you 24-7, just a few tips here and there of what's going on. And as for the next question in your mind, I heard about Ms. Barton's accident on the news this morning."  
  
"I just found out myself." Quatre's eyes flashed to Duo, who was no longer leaning against the doorframe. "And on that note I've got a friend over here, something important I think."  
  
"As it is I figured you wouldn't be able to talk long, besides you know how I detest phones. I just wanted to make sure you're safe and tell you I'm planning on making a visit up there soon."  
  
"Oh great, now I know you don't trust me." Quatre half-joked.  
  
"Quatre."  
  
"I know, I know. I'll talk to you then, or maybe send you another letter soon. I can't talk right now, have to check on Duo and Mari and all. I'll catch you later."  
  
"Yes, of course. Take care of your friends. And Quatre, make sure you take care of yourself."  
  
Quatre smiled into the phone receiver. "Anyone ever tell you how well you channel my mother?"  
  
"Quite often." Was his response.  
  
Quatre said his good-byes quickly and hung up the phone. Stepping back into his room he found Duo had returned to his place in the chair, gazing out the window once again.  
  
"My uncle, he wanted to make sure everything was all right here."  
  
Duo nodded in response. He took a deep breath and glanced warily at Quatre.  
  
"I need… I need to talk to you about something important. I know I barely know you but I can't talk to Trowa about this and there isn't really anyone else I can…" He trailed off and glanced away.  
  
Concern crossed Quatre's face and he sat back down on the bed. "I swear anything said in this room will not leave this room. You can trust me."  
  
Duo closed his eyes and took another deep breath. "Ok, here goes then."  
  
Silence filled the room as he gathered up his courage and Quatre prepared to be the best listener he could. He'd spent many years of his life being the confidant of his many sisters on a whole world of problems; from lovers to monthly stress to drug problems. But nothing could have prepared him for the bomb Duo dropped at that moment.  
  
"I was the one who set off the explosion at Mari's house."  
  
** 


	8. part 8

Chapter 8  
  
"I was the one who set off the explosion at Mari's house."  
  
The words were hard and dead sounding. If Quatre had been standing he knew he would have had to sit down. Today just seemed to be the day for unwelcome surprises just slamming into him. He stared at Duo's haunted expression, trying to process the words that had been said. For a second he tried to convince himself he'd heard wrong but no… no he had heard that right. But that just wasn't possible.  
  
"Duo you're not…"  
  
Duo's expression was haunted, guilty and scared.  
  
"You're serious aren't you?" Quatre said softly.  
  
He nodded slowly.  
  
Quatre took a deep breath and composed himself, forcing himself to calm down. He knew he needed to just listen to what Duo had to say. Jumping to conclusions wouldn't help. Right now Duo just needed someone to listen.  
  
"You can tell me Duo. I meant what I said, it won't leave this room, I swear."  
  
"Even if I was the one who did do it?"  
  
"Duo…" Quatre leaned forward and placed his hands over Duo's. "You can trust me."  
  
The braided boy took a deep breath, steadying himself. He met Quatre's eyes and nodded to himself once. "Actually… I'm not too sure what happened. Maybe I'm over reacting from the stress lately but-  
  
"I went for a walk last night, couldn't sleep and stuff. I had to sort some things out in my head, what's going on with Trowa and everything else. And I don't remember most of the walk, I wasn't paying attention. All I know is that the last thing I remember is standing on my front doorstep wearing wet clothes and my jacket was gone."  
  
He paused and stared down at his hands, a helpless gesture. "I found a note on the table after that about Trowa going to the hospital and quickly changed my clothes and ran over. That's when I found out that Mari…"  
  
He shook his head and closed his eyes. "I don't understand it. I've been trying to remember my walk but I can't, I just can't. I don't even remember what direction I headed off in. I swear I'm losing it. All this is happening at once and I can't even keep track of where my feet take me and I may have actually hurt someone!"  
  
"Duo." Quatre placed a comforting hand on Duo's shoulder. "Calm down, you're tired. You say you don't remember your walk then how do you know you were the one who started the explosion?"  
  
"Trowa said… He talked with Mari and she said it wasn't an accident, that she'd seen someone in the house. That… that someone lit a match and that's what ignited the gas. He said she was thrown out the back window into the swimming pool. My clothes were wet! You put the pieces together!" Duo stood to his feet and turned away from Quatre, hugging himself.  
  
"You don't remember it happening, there's still a huge chance it could have been someone else."  
  
"And there's a huge chance it could have been me!"  
  
Quatre sighed.  
  
"I could have killed her Quatre! I could have killed my own cousin! I mean I know I'm not really related to her but she's still family. At least I think she is."  
  
"Do you want her dead?"  
  
Duo's body stiffened and he whirled around, his eyes narrowing dangerously with anger. "Of course not! I would never want something like that!"   
  
Quatre crossed his arms and gave a small smile. "Then it's very silly to think you were the one who did it. Listen to me, Duo. I highly doubt you did it, plus to make a kitchen blow up like you described it would take a lot of gas leaking, especially considering the size of her kitchen. Whoever did this planned it and planned it well in advance. Besides…" Quatre's voice dropped just a little. "Correct me if I'm wrong but you admitted yourself you have a huge fear of fire. When was the last time you used a match?"  
  
He shook his head lightly and dropped back into the chair. "I haven't ever lit one. Was too young to before my parents died and I just haven't needed to use any since then."  
  
"See? Despite the circumstances it doesn't sound like something you'd do. So until we learn more stop blaming yourself. For all you know you walked through someone's sprinkler and left your coat on a park bench somewhere."  
  
Duo swallowed hard and tried to calm down. "You've got a point," he admitted softly after a moment.  
  
"Good, now relax. Don't assume you did it. There's still many other possibilities."  
  
Duo nodded in agreement once more and stifled a yawn.  
  
"I have an idea. Why don't you get some sleep? You look about ready to collapse from exhaustion."  
  
Duo smirked. "Now that idea I can agree with."  
  
"Good, then you can use my bed. Trust me, it's quite comfy, and while you nap I'll go check on Marimeia."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yes." Quatre stood up. "Running on lack of sleep isn't going to help you Duo, besides you're going to need sleep so you can help me look at the remains of Marimeia's house to see if we can find out what happened."   
  
The expression on Duo's face said he could have jumped up and tackled Quatre in a massive hug, if he weren't so tired. Instead he settled for a huge grin.  
  
"Thanks, Quatre. Thanks a lot."  
  
Quatre just smiled back. "Think nothing of it, besides, I've need a different mystery to put my mind on for a little while. It'll be a challenge. And Marimeia is my friend, I'm going to help you find out what happened, I promise."  
  
With those words he left Duo alone in the room, letting him get some sleep. Stepping downstairs to get his own coat a chill went down his spine and he had to stop for a second.  
  
He realized this wasn't a game, not in the least. The smile dropped off his face and his eyes narrowed as he slipped on his jacket and headed out the door toward the hospital. One of his friends had been injured; he didn't let that happen. And he was perfectly willing to call in favors from his rich family if this got any worse. He may seem like a light and happy youth who loved mysteries and mind-boggling searches, but he and his uncle had one major thing in common. No one messed with Quatre's friends without getting their comeuppance.  
  
No one.  
  
**  
  
Duo settled down in the unfamiliar bed, not even bothering to change clothes or slip under the covers. He had enough energy to slip off his shoes but other then that his reserves and the leftovers from the adrenaline were gone and he just fell onto the bed, off to sleep before his head hit the pillow.  
  
He expected his sleep to be stressed, filled with images of what happened to Marimeia and scattered images of himself setting off the flames even though he didn't remember doing it. Still, he wasn't at all surprised when he opened his eyes to find himself once again in the strange cabin. In fact he breathed a small sigh of relief, this place was actually becoming very comforting, no matter how many times it burnt down or how strangely the boy acted.  
  
Duo found himself sitting quietly on the cot in the corner, curled there with his arms wrapped around his knees, shivering just slightly. The dark blue eyed boy sat in the other corner of the cabin working away at another piece of wood. As Duo moved the boy's eyes lifted from the piece of wood and watched Duo silently, but otherwise he did nothing else.  
  
Oddly enough, aside from feeling comforting the scene felt almost familiar. Duo straightened up and looked around the cabin. He registered that it wasn't as hazy as it had been in previous dreams. Before it had always been like there was this light fog, like it wasn't exactly real, but now it was different. The cabin and everything in it looked completely solid, like it was an actual place. Duo's eyes widened as he noticed the thick lines in the log walls, the swirls in the packed dirt floor and the texture of the rough wool blankets below him. "Where am I?" He whispered softly.  
  
The boy stood up and walked over, his fingers wrapped around the piece he was carving. "Far away, and yet very close."  
  
Duo blinked and looked to the boy. "Now you're going all cryptic on me? How come you never spoke to me before in these dreams? I've had them for so long and you never spoke, or even noticed me."  
  
The boy shrugged. "I was not awake then."  
  
Wasn't awake? Duo started at that, the boy was right. Until recently he never remembered the boy being anywhere but sleeping in his cot as the flames licked at the walls. He'd never been carving before nor had he ever even opened his eyes. How strange…  
  
"Why are you awake now? What made you wake up?"  
  
The boy smiled softly, as if laughing at his own private joke. "You did."  
  
"I… did?" Duo stood up, stepping onto the dirt floor. His socks brushed over the small loose pebbles, feeling incredibly real. If he didn't know this was a dream he would have sworn he had been swept off to another world. Timidly he reached forward, his hand pausing for a moment before it reached and touched the boy's bare arm. The boy wore an old shirt, one of those old style button downs that had once been white. Now it was stained and torn, as if it had been used for long days of work, simply worn to keep the sun off someone's back. His pants were a darker brown, in better condition, certainly. His hair was long, combed though messy. The long strands were pulled back into a half-hearted ponytail which hung down his back. Duo blinked, he'd never really noticed what the boy looked like before. But now he did, and the boy certainly looked real enough.  
  
The boy's eyes drifted down to Duo's hand, which still rested on his arm.  
  
Duo pulled his hand away and felt his cheeks grow slightly red. He still couldn't believe it though, the boy's skin was warm, not the icy cold of before. And he noticed the boy's chest move with each breath… there was no mistaking he was a living, breathing, human being. But he was still in a dream!  
  
"You're not cold anymore." He murmured softly, not even realizing he was saying it out loud. "You're warm."  
  
"Am I now?" The boy lifted his own hand and looked at it, turning it before his eyes, examining it. "I suppose so."  
  
"Who are you? Why do you keep appearing in my dreams?"  
  
The boy's shoulders seemed to drop slightly and his face turned sad. "You do not know?"  
  
Duo shook his head.  
  
The boy sighed softly, almost in a defeated manner. "Then I can not say." At those words his form seemed to fade slightly and the wooden figure fell to the floor, though Duo never saw the boy drop it. The sound reverberated around the cabin, echoing more then it should have. The boy's eyes widened and he took a step back at the sound.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"Not so soon!" The boy's eyes flew wildly around the room as things began to happen again.  
  
Voices grew around them, crying, screaming surrounded by the sound of crackling flames. The doors slammed shut as did the windows of the cabin and once again smoke began seeping in the cracks.  
  
The boy grabbed Duo and was going to push him back, sending him out of the dream again, but this time Duo fought his rising fear and panic and clasped hard onto the boy's arm. The dark blue eyes stared at him in shock.  
  
"Answer one more thing! Why do you always have to burn?" Duo asked quickly, the smoke already surrounding them and making his throat and eyes burn.  
  
The boy's eyes turned sad, pained. Duo's jaw dropped slightly as he realized that the flames actually hurt the boy, every time. Every time, every dream the boy burnt to death. Duo now recognized the boy's voice among the screams and voices around them, crying out in pain and sorrow, words so full of agony they were incoherent.  
  
"Why?! Why do you always have to burn?!" Duo cried out. No! He refused to let go! He couldn't let this boy burn again! Not now that he'd heard his screams, not now! He couldn't let him die like his parents had!  
  
The boy shook his head and coughed, the smoke around them thick and burning as flames licked the doors and walls. "It can not be helped. You must leave…"  
  
"I don't want you to keep burning!"  
  
"I have burned a thousand times in your dreams and will burn a thousand more." The boy pulled Duo forward and embraced him tightly, tears slipping down his cheek, soaking Duo's shoulder. "And I would burn a million more, it is worth seeing you once again. Worth every scream."  
  
With those words he grabbed Duo harshly and shoved him backward. Duo stumbled back, the world around him dropping away. He registered calling out to the boy, but the boy only stood there, tears slipping lightly down his face. Flames crawled up around his legs and his body. Burning away his clothes and licking painfully at his skin. Duo shut his eyes, crying out and shutting out the sight. He couldn't watch.  
  
His eyes snapped open and the dream was gone. He found himself sitting up in Quatre's bed, the house around him silent and still. And there was something else…  
  
His shoulder was wet!  
  
Just slightly. As if someone had been holding him and crying and the tears had dropped there. Duo shivered and lay back down in the bed, closing his eyes. That boy… he'd burned again. Why? Why did he have to burn every time?  
  
"And I would burn a million more, it is worth seeing you once again. Worth every scream." The boy's words echoed lightly in his mind, full of feeling, sadness. Duo hugged himself as the words repeated in his mind over and over.  
  
Strangely enough, despite their cryptic nature he took comfort in them. The voice was comforting and he suddenly recognized a soft protective tone within it. The boy had protected him from burning, protected him by pushing him out of the dream, just like last time.  
  
Duo smiled softly and closed his eyes once more, drifting off into a light sleep.  
  
"Thank you," he murmured softly to the boy, even though he couldn't see him.  
  
Somehow though, as strange as it may have sounded, he was sure the boy heard.  
  
**  
  
Marimeia turned her head toward the door as it opened and her eyes lit up.   
  
"Quatre!"  
  
The blond smiled at her and pulled his hand from behind his back, showing a small bouquet of flowers in a small vase with a blue ribbon attached. Marimeia's eyes lit up even more and she laughed.  
  
"Flowers?"  
  
He nodded and handed them to her, careful of the vase. "From what I hear, you need some cheering up."  
  
She smiled gratefully and breathed deeply of the flowers, basking in the sweet scents for a moment, then placed them carefully on the bedside table. "You didn't have to."  
  
"I know, but I did. I figured you wouldn't mind a change, I know first hand how annoying the smell of hospitals can get."  
  
Marimeia frowned slightly. "You were in the hospital?"  
  
He shook his head. "Not personally. But I have enough sisters at home to have spent a good time in one. I swear one of those girls is always having a baby, or something. I keep telling them we should just buy one of the hospital rooms and take turns living in it."  
  
That got a laugh out of her and she just shook her head in wonder. "You keep surprising me, you know that? I thought I knew you pretty well from your student profile but you keep surprising me. There's certainly more to you then meets the eye, Quatre Winner." She looked happy but she knew her eyes couldn't hide the fear she had, and she wasn't surprised when he seemed to notice.  
  
Quatre's face turned to a serious smile. "We're going to find out what happened."  
  
Her smile disappeared. "You heard then?"  
  
"Duo told me what happened. No one else knows, don't worry."  
  
She sighed softly and glanced out the window. "I admit to being nearly hysterical when I told Trowa what happened, but can you blame me? I'm still scared, but at least I'm thinking straight now, or at least straighter then I was. I'm remembering more of what happened, things aren't as hazy anymore. I'm betting it's because the drugs have pretty much worn off. But… be serious Quatre, how are we going to find out what happened by ourselves?"  
  
Quatre smirked lightly at that one. "I'm not against researching and legwork."  
  
She laughed softly. "Quatre, you aren't a detective, you're a high school student."  
  
"No, I'm not a detective, never said I was. But you are a close friend and where I come from things like this aren't taken lightly. I know the police and I know the way they tend to work. They may or may not find anything and if they don't find anything they will leave the case alone, writing it off as an accident. They will let it slide. But I'm not going to let this slide. I protect my friends, Marimeia, be it you or Duo, or Trowa or even Sylvia in the library. I'm going to do my best to find out who did this, I swear it."  
  
"I believe you." Marimeia sat up slightly in the bed and hugged Quatre close, despite her IV line and bandages.  
  
He smiled and hugged her back, then sat back down in his chair. "Good, trust me, we'll find out. In the meantime, you just get well." Standing up he nodded a farewell to her and headed for the door.  
  
"Quatre," she said softly.  
  
He turned back to look at her in question.  
  
"I told you I started to remember stuff… well I think I remember a face. I mean I'm not sure, but I know I haven't seen him anywhere else before and I'm reasonably sure I know a face or at least a small description now. A boy… with bright blue eyes and messy dark hair. I don't remember the color of the hair or anything else about him, only that he was there. And I think… I think he pushed me through the window when everything exploded." She shrugged and gave a helpless look. "But I'm not sure… it's still kinda fuzzy."  
  
Quatre nodded. "I'll keep an eye out, tell you if I see him."  
  
She nodded and he left the room. Stepping outside of the room he took a place on the bench where Trowa had been sitting. He'd sent Trowa home to get some sleep, promising he would stay at Marimeia's side until Trowa came back to take his place.  
  
Sitting down on the bench he frowned. He hadn't told Marimeia but he did remember a boy that fit that description. And it seemed to be too much of a coincidence that they'd seen that boy on the same night Duo had gone running off, at the burnt remains of Duo's house no less.  
  
Quatre sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. Was it all connected? Was the name Heero Yuy connected in to all of this or did he just arrive in town at the wrong time? He couldn't figure it out, needed more information. And now… now was not the best time to ask Duo where he'd come up with the pen name. In fact, now was probably the worst time to bring something like that up.  
  
Still, he couldn't help but feel this was all connected somehow, he just didn't know how. And that was going to drive him up the wall!  
  
**  
  
Snapping the suitcase closed he glanced around the room once more. Had he forgotten anything? No, everything was in order. Pulling on his coat and picking up his suit case Treize Kushrenada shut off the lights and headed down the stairs to the waiting airport taxi.  
  
It was about time he went to visit his nephew.  
  
** 


	9. part 9

Chapter 9  
  
The house loomed above them like some great stone giant. Painted white, its pillars still standing around the door and the lawn still as neatly kept as before. The large fence around it, even the windows were clean, washed to a near glimmer in the fading sunlight of the afternoon. Yet, the side of the house stood out in stark contrast.   
  
While the swimming pool and the kitchen faced the back yard the damage was still visible from the front lawn. In fact, it looked like a part of the magnificent giant had just rotted and fallen away, rejected by the rest of the body. Around that area some of the paint was darkened and wooden support planks were splintered, looking like sickly brown bones protruding from an injured person's side.  
  
Duo stopped himself and took a deep breath. Ok, rule number one; stop comparing the house to a dead person. He expelled the breath and let his eyes open once more, scanning over the remains of the house. It was so strange, aside from that one corner nothing else looked different. It was still Marimeia's house… still the picture perfect painting… but in that corner someone had accidentally smeared the paint, combining colors into deep browns, burnt oranges and charred blacks. He shook off that comparison as well and instead set his mind on following Quatre.  
  
Duo had spent most of the day in Quatre's bed, catching up on his sleep and wondering about the strange boy from his dreams. He knew the problem with Marimeia was more pressing but thoughts of the boy offered him mental support through his stress, and that was something he desperately needed lately. So the day had been wasted rolling over in the sheets, small naps of sleep, and deep pondering on beautiful dark blue eyes and messy brown hair. How strange that a figment of his imagination could have so many minute details.  
  
After he'd figured he'd caught up on enough sleep he'd gotten up and headed back to the hospital. There he'd found Quatre sitting on the bench in front of Marimeia's room. Quatre had taken Trowa's post, accepting a term of watch while Trowa also tried to sleep. And now? Now it was hours later and the sun was just starting to set on the horizon. Trowa was back on the bench by Marimeia's room, textbook in hand so he could make up for the day of school he had missed and would miss. Meanwhile Duo and Quatre were standing in front of Marimeia's house, ready to comb the ruins and attempt to find… something.  
  
He followed Quatre's careful and quiet steps around the house, his aquamarine eyes scanning over everything and not seeming to miss a thing. Duo tried to help too, but he found himself watching Quatre with curiosity.  
  
Quatre really was serious about finding out what happened to Marimeia. He found the blonde's devotion a little strange, especially considering he'd only been in this town for what? Less then a week. Why this fierce loyalty so soon? If Duo didn't know better he might have said there was guilt in there somewhere… that somehow Quatre felt responsible for what had happened. But no, that wasn't right.  
  
If anyone was responsible it was him, taking that walk and not paying attention to where he'd walked-   
  
No, he cut himself off. Don't think like that, it's absurd.  
  
Walking past Quatre, and dismissing most of his jumbled thoughts, he crossed the lawn and walked into the backyard. Once again comparisons came to his mind as he looked over the ruins. Was this what it looked like when someone's appendix burst?  
  
Furniture, utensils, scraps of wood, remnants of burnt wall paper… it all lay scattered about the lawn, floated in the pool and found itself wedged in the trunks of nearby trees. A small section of the wall which had once surrounded the doorway to the kitchen now leaned out precariously, ready to fall at any moment. Ashes lay everywhere, most things were only partially burned thanks to the quickness of local firemen, but there was still a huge amount of damage. Glass lay shattered across the lawn, looking like some kind of macabre snowfall. Duo shook off the chill sliding over his body.  
  
Marimeia was really lucky to have survived.  
  
"What kind of person would do this?" He heard himself mutter softly, his voice sounding oddly detached and calm.  
  
"Certainly not you," Quatre responded, kneeling down and picking up a broken piece of glass. He turned it over in his hand, then set it back down. Standing back up he walked toward the hole blown in the side of the house, his feet crunching the glass underneath.  
  
"Yeah, I know that." Duo felt stupid. He felt stupid for even thinking he could have done this. He knew he couldn't do something like this, ever! No matter how much he hated or loathed a person he would never even consider something like this. Not on the person he hated the most, and he loved Marimeia like a sister! Albeit a very annoying sister at times, but still!  
  
Duo watched Quatre frown.   
  
"Shouldn't there be… police lines around here or something? I mean isn't this a crime scene?"  
  
Quatre shook his head. "I'm betting they passed it off as an accident. And as for Mari's mentioning she saw someone strike a match, well they could easily chalk that up to shock and hallucination." His eyes narrowed for a second at a private thought, then he seemed to shake it off and shake his head. "I can understand why they passed it off as an accident… there's nothing here. Nothing to say there was anyone here… the only sign of Marimeia is the blood stained glass near the pool."  
  
"Certainly no jacket," Duo murmured softly.  
  
Quatre looked up at him in surprise, then his expression turned to a small understanding smile. "No, no wet jacket."   
  
Duo sighed, relief washing over his body.  
  
Quatre walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly in support. "Come on, there's nothing here we're going to be able to find at the moment. Let's head over to Hilde's."  
  
Marimeia hadn't said anything to them but they figured they should pass the news onto Hilde about what had happened. The new girl was probably in near hysterics, worrying more then an old lady. Least she probably was if she was anything like Marimeia. Duo smirked quietly at the thought of Hilde and Marimeia running up and down the walls whenever they weren't the first to know about things.  
  
He nodded and then he and Quatre headed for Hilde's house.  
  
This house was a world of difference from Marimeia's. It was simple, small and well cared for. The lawn was as well kept as any rich and expensive house that could afford lawn service, but it was more impressive since Duo guessed by the size of the house that they couldn't afford lawn services, and that this was all hand done. The house itself was a split-level, painted in a light off-white tone, almost pinkish, yet not in excess. An expertly kept garden sat off to the side in the lawn, holding within it a wide range of colors. Absolutely beautiful and artistic in its style.  
  
Beside Duo he heard Quatre choke in a gasp of air, the blond freezing in his step with his eyes wide and almost… scared looking.  
  
"Quatre?"  
  
Quatre didn't seem to notice Duo's voice, instead his hand shook just slightly as it reached inside his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Slowly he unfolded it and glanced down at the picture. Duo noticed it was a pencil sketch of the exact garden, done in perfect detail save for a small difference in the time of blooming.  
  
"Wow! That looks almost like a photo it's so exact. Quatre, are you all right? You look as if you've just seen a ghost."  
  
The blond shook his head. "It-it's nothing." Quickly he folded the sketch back up and stuffed it in his pocket. Taking a deep breath he regained his composure. "Just didn't expect to find the garden here. Whose house is this?"  
  
"Umm… it belongs to an older woman, her husband passed away a long time ago. She's got some strange, long first name. Lucrenzia I think is how you say it." Duo said with a shrug.  
  
Quatre nodded. "Sally, the woman I'm living with, has mentioned her a few times." His lips curved in a small smile. "She told me that Lu lost all her copies of the books written by Heero Yuy, aside from the one she let me read."  
  
Duo laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like her, she's forever misplacing stuff. I swear her house eats junk… you know, the same way some people claim their dryers eat socks?"  
  
The two laughed and Quatre walked up to the door, hitting the doorbell. Beyond the door there were sounds of someone moving about the house. A couple of heavy footsteps down the stairs and the door opened to reveal an older woman. She had short dark hair, cut in a fashion that was fashionable for young ladies but generally didn't fit older women, however it still managed to look good on her. Darker eyes looked at the two boys in question through reading glasses and then she smiled.  
  
"You must be Hilde's friends."  
  
Quatre nodded and took a step forward. "Yes, is she home? We need to speak with her."  
  
The older woman, Lucrenzia, shook her head. "I'm afraid not. She left a couple hours back, saying she had to go visit a friend. Terrible thing I hear, her friend is in the hospital? I hope she's doing well."  
  
"That's what we came to tell her about," Duo replied. "But I guess Marimeia beat us to it."  
  
The woman nodded. "Yes, would you two like to come in and wait for her? She assured me she would be back soon. You could join us for dinner if you like, it shouldn't be hard for me to find something to whip up."  
  
Quatre and Duo both smirked at the joke, though they didn't know if it was intentional. Lucrenzia find something? "No, thank you for the invitation though," answered Quatre for both of them. "We should be heading home here anyway, it's getting late."  
  
"All right then, safe trip home both of you."  
  
She flashed a smile in their direction and started to close the door when Quatre turned, as if remembering something and frowned lightly. "Just a question… whose garden is that?" He pointed to the garden that had caused him to freeze earlier.  
  
"Oh, that's Hilde's. She's quite a gardener; it was the first thing she asked me when she moved in, if she could plant herself a little garden. Frankly I'm very pleased I agreed to it, this old lawn has needed some color for a while now, but goodness knows I have no remnants of a green thumb."  
  
"It is a beauty," Quatre agreed. "Oh well, we best be heading off. Good bye." This time he and Duo retreated down the walk and the door closed behind them, though Lucrenzia stayed at the window watching until they were well out of sight, like any good grandmother would.  
  
About a few blocks later, after walking in contemplative silence Duo yawned and stretched his arms toward the sky, a nervous grin on his face.  
  
Quatre laughed. "Yes you can spend the night at my house."  
  
Duo's eyes went wide and he stopped walking. "How did you do that?! How in the world did you know what I was going to ask?"  
  
Quatre turned a small smirk at Duo. "Simple, I've lived with many older and younger sisters. Non-verbal signs aren't lost on me easily. Not to mention that you're going through a lot of stress lately, most of which is related to your home or family. A change of scenery might actually help."  
  
Duo gave a mock defeated look. "Yeah, you've got it right on most points there. I figured Trowa would understand if I didn't come home tonight, he'll probably stay at the hospital all night anyway. That is, of course, as long as I'm not intruding or anything." He added quickly.  
  
"Not at all, I'm sure Sally won't mind at all."  
  
The two dropped back into silence for a while, moving down the street at a calming pace. Duo's eyes wandered over the streets and the houses as inside lights flipped on and streetlights decided to stop sleeping. He hated the silence; it always made his mind wander. Like to the dream… to the boy. The boy who burned every night. He shuddered slightly at the thought. Desperately he searched for something else to concentrate on when he remembered something.  
  
"Quatre, what was it with you and that garden? Why were you so interested in it?"  
  
Quatre frowned and his hand unconsciously drifted to his pocket where the sketch was. "My uncle sent me the sketch. I was just surprised that it matched so perfectly, I thought it was just a pretty picture. He does strange things like that… send me sketches and things occasionally to get my reaction." He shrugged. "I swear one of these times he going to cause me to have a heart attack."  
  
"He's the same one who called earlier?"  
  
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, before I moved here I used to live with him. Well, technically I lived with my family but I spent all the time I could over at his house. Numerous sisters can get really annoying, especially when it's a rich family and you also have to deal with servants and all that stuff. And the house was always too big… too full. I prefer quiet most times."  
  
Duo was going to bring up that none of that explained why Quatre had been carrying the sketch around in his pocket, or why there were numerous scribblings on the back of the sketch in pen but he decided not to. Instead he let the subject drop, it really wasn't any of his business to poke into Quatre's home life or his family unless Quatre wanted to tell him. Besides, the two had just met recently, badgering into a new friend's life wasn't the wisest of choices.  
  
They reached Sally's house not too long after that and then things dropped into a semi normal pattern. The nice old woman treated them to a large dinner, and Duo ate enough that by the time the dinner was over he was ready to fall asleep right at the table. Quatre helped clean off the table then they headed up to Quatre's room, ready for a very long sleep.  
  
"Take the bed," Quatre said, pulling his sleeping clothes out of the dresser.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said, you can have the bed. I'll sleep on the floor tonight."  
  
Duo shook his head. "Quatre, it's your bed and-"  
  
Quatre turned and cut him off. "And of the two of us you need sleep the most. I'm sleeping on the floor, you can sleep on the floor if you want, but it would be a shame to when the bed is open."  
  
Duo laughed. "Have you ever though of joining the debate team? You're a master at convincing people to see things your way."  
  
Quatre just laughed and headed for the bathroom to change clothes.  
  
The two settled down to sleep after very few talks and both closed their eyes. Duo turned over in the bed, snuggling into the pillow and smiled softly. Despite his protests he was happy Quatre had made him take the bed, he didn't think he would have slept well on the floor. As it was, in the bed, he drifted off to sleep in seconds.  
  
**  
  
The taxi pulled up in front of the house and the man stepped out. He handed a pile of bills to the driver and then walked around to take his own suitcase out of the trunk. Setting it on the sidewalk, he didn't even blink as the taxi drove off, away to its next paying customer. Whistling a light tune he picked up his suitcase and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell once.  
  
It never occurred to him that the sun had long since set in the sky. It never occurred to him that most decent people were asleep at this hour. It never occurred to him that he would be better off finding a hotel or a place to stay for the night and paying a visit in the morning. None of these things really occurred to him, because he just patiently waited for someone to come to the door. Or perhaps they did occur to him, and he just didn't care. Because he knew at least one person in the house who was expecting him.  
  
Minutes passed and no one answered the door. Behind him a few scattered cars drove down the street, but otherwise it was quiet and empty, the type of silence you could only find in the early mornings. It was the silence and peacefulness he loved, which might explain why he'd gained this strange habit of sleeping for half the day and staying up until the ungodly hours of the morning. His sleeping patterns were more obnoxious and random then a college student.  
  
When he'd rung the doorbell a third time and the house hadn't even stirred he began to worry. He always got an answer by the third ring, always. Frowning he took a step back and scanned the outside of the house, which is when he noticed a few very disturbing things. The most important of which was the wire for the doorbell, which traveled down the doorframe and disappeared under the house. Near the sidewalk level it was broken, cut. How odd.  
  
Reaching for the doorknob he tried it softly, and wasn't at all surprised to find it locked securely. That was nothing strange. But the windows beside the door bugged him. On closer inspection he found his fears were justified. What crazy nut would nail their own windows shut? Not to mention that he was starting to detect the faint smell of smoke.   
  
That decided it, damn the consequences. Picking up his suitcase he slammed it against the smaller window in the door, shattering the glass loudly. Using his sleeve he cleared away the jagged glass and reached down, snapping open the dead bolt, after nearly pulling a muscle in his arm to reach it. Opening the door he stepped into the living room and the smell of smoke was stronger, a thick and sharp smell. He quickly followed it to the source.  
  
The source happened to be the living room of the house and an old fireplace. A small flame was burning there quietly but the smoke wasn't retreating up the fireplace like it should be, instead it was staying in the room. Sitting in an old rocking chair, not far from the fireplace was an old woman, most definitely asleep. The smoke hadn't woken her!  
  
Without much time for thinking Treize raced to the woman and picked her up, taking her quickly outside the house. She seemed to sleep well through all the movements, forcing him to leave her lying on the grass where he hoped she wouldn't have a heart attack when she woke up to the unfamiliar surroundings.  
  
Racing back in the house he located a phone and picked it up… the line was dead.  
  
"Quatre!"  
  
He raced up the stairs.  
  
"QUATRE!"  
  
**  
  
Quatre's eyes snapped open from the noise and he immediately noticed the smoke in the room, his throat dry and scratchy. He heard his name being called and he tried to answer, but ended up coughing painfully instead. Sitting up quickly he raced to the bed and grabbed Duo's shoulder, shaking him hard.  
  
Duo woke up a second later and must have smelled the smoke as well, because his entire body froze, his eyes going wide. He didn't even cough; instead he just sat there in shock, his entire body starting to tremble.  
  
"Duo? Duo! Come on, we have to get out of the house, right now! Move!"  
  
The door burst open behind Quatre and his uncle raced into the room. "Quatre, come on!"  
  
"He won't move!" Quatre responded with a cough.  
  
Treize didn't waste any time and ran over to the bed, picking up Duo and nearly throwing the boy over his shoulder he raced out of the room. Quatre followed him, concentrating on getting to the door and covering his mouth with his sleeve, the smoke burning his eyes. They reached the front lawn, where Duo was set down, and Treize disappeared again, this time running to the neighbor's house, banging loudly on their door. He returned minutes later, along with the sounds of sirens down the street.  
  
The next half-hour was a blur of people, questions and movements. Numerous people in uniforms asked Quatre questions while others ran into the house and broke open the windows, providing other ways for the smoke to escape the house. He resided himself to answering the questions with nods and shakes of his head and repeated his name and relation to Sally a few times to those who asked. Somewhere in the fury of questions and worried people he registered a few men carrying an old and burnt quilt out of the house. He recognized it as the one Sally had been working on earlier that week… come to think of it the quilt had disappeared a day ago and they hadn't been able to find it…  
  
The police and firemen left the scene reluctantly. Sally was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and Quatre blinked to find himself sitting on the lawn, not too far from a very shaken Duo wrapped in a blanket, while Treize talked to a few of the police that had stayed. A moment later they left as well, apparently assured that the three were all right. A taxi arrived moments later and the three were in a car, headed toward the nearest hotel.  
  
Once they reached the hotel room Quatre's mind seemed to have caught up with what was going on, or maybe he'd finally woken up enough to register things. Numbly he found his way to the hotel bed and sat down. Closing his eyes he took a few deep breaths.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
Quatre opened his eyes and found that Treize was talking to Duo, who was still huddled in the blanket, shivering like he was very cold. Duo had hidden his face and was murmuring something incoherent.  
  
Quatre crawled across the bed and pushed his uncle away for a moment, sitting in front of Duo.  
  
"Duo," he said softly.  
  
The murmuring was coherent now, two words repeated over and over and over again. "…not again not again not again not again not again…" he just kept repeating them, lost in his own little world.  
  
Quatre placed a hand on Duo's shoulder and got no reaction, the boy didn't seem to notice.  
  
"He's in shock," Treize said quietly.  
  
Quatre nodded. "I'm not sure what to do, I don't know how to handle this one." Frowning he looked at Duo with worried eyes. "His brother would know how to handle this but…"  
  
"How old is his brother?" Treize asked.  
  
"My age." Quatre blinked as he said the words, glancing to his uncle.  
  
"And what do you do when one of your siblings is scared or worried?"  
  
He got the hint. Leaning forward Quatre wrapped his arms around Duo, pulling him into a timid embrace. At first Duo didn't seem to notice and Quatre's mind began running through other things he did to calm down his sisters, but then he got a reaction. Duo slowly uncurled from himself and pulled himself closer to Quatre, wrapping his arms around Quatre's body. It was strange, like a moth flying toward a light. Duo's eyes were closed and he was still murmuring so he didn't seem to notice who it was that was hugging him. He didn't seem to care either, just pulled himself closer until he ended up curled tightly against Quatre, sitting in the boy's lap and trembling there. Slowly he stopped murmuring and the shock seemed to melt away until he was much more relaxed.   
  
Duo opened his eyes and looked up at Quatre, and that's when the spell broke.  
  
His eyes narrowed dangerously, almost in a look of anger and he jerked out of Quatre's arms. Jumping back he stumbled off the bed and to his feet until he was leaning against the wall not too far away. His eyes continued to glare at Quatre for a moment then he seemed to shake it off. Closing his eyes once more he covered his face with his hands and took a few shuddering breaths.  
  
"Duo?" Quatre asked softly in question.  
  
"I… I'm ok." Duo said softly. He took one more deep breath then pulled away his hands. His violet eyes shifted around the room and finally settled on Treize and Quatre in question. "Where… what happened?"  
  
"Someone apparently tried to kill you." 


	10. part 10

wow... this has got to be an amazing day..  
  
this part has SAP!! You heard that right... one of my fics actually has sap in it! Hehehe, enjoy!  
  
----Snow Tigra  
  
Fire Mated  
Chapter 10  
  
"Someone apparently tried to kill you."  
  
Duo's body shivered and he hugged himself. For a moment they thought the shock might settle back in again but it didn't. Instead Duo groped around blindly for a chair, needing to sit down, but not sure if he could make it to the bed. Treize quickly pushed the chair within his reach and he dropped into it, bringing his knees up to hug tightly.  
  
"What makes you think that?" Quatre asked softly. It wasn't that he didn't believe his uncle, but he wanted to know what had led his uncle to that conclusion.  
  
"The doorbell was cut on the front door, that was the first thing that tipped me off. Also, all the windows that I could see were nailed shut, pretty firmly I'm guessing. Not to mention the quilt stuffed up the chimney, it was probably a few hours before the smoke would have been noticed and by then the house would have been thick with it. I don't know if it would have killed anyone, but it very nearly could have."  
  
Duo shut his eyes and shook his head wildly for a second. Then his head snapped up, his eyes wide. "I have to check on Trowa! He's by himself and-"  
  
Quatre stood up and beat Duo to the phone, placing his hand over Duo's to keep him from picking up the receiver. "Duo, calm down. Please? I'll call him, ok? You're far too worried and panicked at the moment."  
  
The braided boy bit his bottom lip and pulled his hand back, yet not without hesitation. Almost as an after thought his eyes flickered to Treize and he frowned at the man. Quatre caught the look and sighed.  
  
"Sorry. Duo Maxwell, meet my uncle, Treize Kushrenada." Quatre shook his head and laughed slightly. "Only you, uncle, would show up and ring someone's doorbell this early in the morning without thinking about it."  
  
Treize smirked and spread out his hands. "What can I say, it just never occurred to me that you might sleep normal hours."  
  
Quatre rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. The lady at the front desk answered and he asked for the number to the hospital, taking care of checking up on Trowa.  
  
Meanwhile Treize turned his attention to Duo. Treize was a taller man, well looking by most standards. In fact, he looked every bit the noble gentleman stereotype with thin arched eyebrows that split at the ends. His short blond hair was combed back in soft waves and had a strawberry tint in the right angle of light. Blue eyes, whose color perfectly matched Quatre's, spoke of someone who didn't miss much, in fact probably missed nothing. If Duo didn't know better he would have sworn this man had hawk blood in him or something, how else could his eyes be that attentive?  
  
"I've never seen anyone react that way before." Treize mused softly, his eyes still moving over Duo, taking every detail of him. Oddly though the gaze wasn't intimidating, it was simply curious, like that of a young child.  
  
Duo sighed softly and dropped back in the chair, nodding. "My parents died in a house fire, trapped in the basement while everything burnt down." He shuddered. "Since then I've never had any good reactions to fire, or smoke for that matter."  
  
Treize nodded and rubbed a finger over his chin. "That would explain your dropping into shock, certainly, but that wasn't what I was referring to. Actually I meant what you did to Quatre when he tried to comfort you."  
  
"What I did… what did I do?"  
  
"You don't remember? Oh, well you were sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth murmuring. Then he tried to speak with you and you didn't stop. So he decided to hug you, you know in a comforting way. You melted into his arms, then a second later you jumped out of them and glared at him like he'd just threatened a close family member."   
  
"That's how Trowa used to always…" Duo's voice trailed off too soft for the man to hear and he looked away, a guilty look crossing his face.  
  
Behind them Quatre set down the phone, hanging it up. "Trowa said he's all right, nothing happened at the hospital. I didn't mention what happened, I figured he had enough to worry about with Marimeia…" Quatre blinked and glanced from his uncle to the guilty and silent look on Duo's face. "Uncle! You creeped him out already didn't you?"  
  
"No, it's not that." Duo said quickly. He turned back to look at the two. "Just…" He sighed loudly and closed his eyes. "Too much has happened in the last week. Someone please stop the world, I want-no, need to get off."  
  
Quatre smiled softly at that.   
  
"I really need sleep. Sleep uninterrupted by dreams, calls, feelings, screams and smoke. Just normal, honest to god sleep."  
  
Treize stood up and walked over to his yet-unpacked suitcase and pulled out a small bottle. Turning he glanced at the label then tossed the plastic bottle to Duo, who caught it with a slight fumble. Duo frowned at the label.  
  
"Sleeping pills?"  
  
Treize nodded. "I use them when I fly, never have been one for planes. They help you sleep, rest on he other hand is a different matter. But at least they keep away nightmares of the plane crashing. Completely harmless of course, no side effects."  
  
"And if a fire starts in this room?" Duo asked. His voice was filled with a very dry tone of humor but at the same time it was a very reasonable question for all he'd been through lately.   
  
"One of us will wake you up and get you to safety, I promise." Quatre said.  
  
Duo smiled and nodded. Opening the bottle he took one of the pills and lay down on the bed. Curling up with the small blanket he'd been wrapped in earlier he closed his eyes. It wasn't long before his breathing evened out and he looked quite peaceful. Quatre sighed.  
  
"I feel sorry for him, everything that's happened lately… I doubt I would have been able to remain as calm as he has."  
  
"From what I've seen he's very lucky to have you as the level-headed one in all of this. He appears to need some stability in his life."  
  
Quatre nodded. "And did I mention that you have impeccable timing, as usual? If you hadn't of shown up at such an ungodly hour, well…" Quatre shrugged and stopped there, not feeling the need to state the obvious.  
  
"You were both very lucky." He agreed, then his face turned more serious. "Who is he Quatre? What could have possibly happened to him recently that he has broken down this much? The death of a person's parents doesn't have this kind of effect, even in the worst of cases."  
  
Quatre shook his head. "You gave him those pills so he would sleep and not hear your grilling session with me, didn't you?"  
  
Treize frowned. "Tell me you have a higher opinion of me then that, please. I merely gave him the pills because he needed the rest, a time to unwind. However, you know I will use circumstances to my advantage if the opportunity presents itself, so yes it did solve two problems at once."  
  
"Heartless opportunist," Quatre teased. Still he knew the way his uncle's mind worked, mostly. He knew Treize had given Duo the pills to help him sleep, and though he didn't admit it, he probably didn't even think about the boy listening in until moments later.   
  
Treize smirked at the mock.  
  
Shaking his head Quatre stepped forward and hugged his uncle tightly. "I swear I've never been more happy to see you in my life."  
  
Treize hugged back. "Yes, it does appear I showed up at the best of times. Now, if you please, don't leave me in the dark any longer. I am eager to hear of all things that have happened, especially concerning your young friend, he seems quite the case."  
  
"You have no idea!"  
  
**  
  
Trees surrounded him on all sides, the large dark trunks reaching high above with branches going in every direction. The trees were close together, yet not close enough to make a complete canopy. The scattered pattern of the trees spoke of natural growth, a process rarely disturbed by humans until recently, as there was a beaten path below his feet. Somewhere behind him, very faint and nearly silent, were the sounds of a town, a place with many more people. But he was walking away from there, walking toward a retreat, a quieter place.  
  
The world around him, despite its clarity, was also shaded. He blinked a few times, thinking it was just the world around him, but then he realized it was his own eyes. Everything seemed to be covered with a strange fog, yet not intimidating in any way, just unclear, hard to focus on. Colors were muted, sunlight was muddled and behind everything there seemed to be this soft roaring, like interference in a far away radio station. After several attempts to shake it all off and failing miserably he just gave up and continued down the path, it wasn't worth a fight he was pretty sure would only wear him out and accomplish nothing.  
  
He walked a slow, sluggish walk down the path. Everything seemed so slow, but yet he reached his destination quickly, finding himself standing in a small clearing, the path leading up to a very familiar log cabin. The large boulder he remembered from the night after the chess game - the one that had held the salamander - stood off to his left, a speckled piece of gray rock that added to the landscape, was it natural or moved by human hand?  
  
Dismissing thoughts of the boulder he turned his attention to the house. He pushed open the door slowly and peeked his head in. He felt a smile cross his face as he saw the large and warm atmosphere.   
  
All the windows were wide open, letting the sunlight stream in and light the entire place. The bed was empty, the blankets rolled up in a haphazard fashion, slept in not too long ago. Sitting in the corner was the boy, the same boy as always. But he was so much more clear, even in the muted environment, and Duo couldn't help but feel the smile cross his face. He pushed the door open a little more and it made a small noise.   
  
The boy startled, the knife slipping and cutting his finger. He dropped the knife and brought his finger to his mouth, hiding the small carving he was working on in his hand. His eyes looked up to meet Duo and he smiled softly.  
  
"I didn't mean to make you cut yourself! Sorry," Duo said, stepping completely into the cabin. The words were strange, something familiar about them. Duo blinked as he felt himself swept up in an incredible feeling of déjà vu… this all seemed so familiar and yet he knew none of his other dreams had gone like this.  
  
The boy stood up slowly from his place in the corner and approached Duo, his face questioning. His bright blue eyes moved over Duo's figure and Duo shook his head, noticing another difference. He reached his hand up, as soon as the boy was in reach, and moved to touch the boy's hair… but he stopped himself before he could.  
  
"Your hair," he said softly. "It's shorter now."  
  
The boy's eyes widened, just slightly. He reached his own hand up and lightly touched the newly chopped edges which just barley brushed the back of his neck. Before his hair had been pulled into a messy ponytail, and now it was cut, the ponytail completely gone, though his hair was still just as messy. The boy closed his eyes and swallowed softly.  
  
"You're remembering," he breathed.  
  
"Remembering?" Duo whispered softly.   
  
The boy opened his fingers, holding out the carved wooden sculpture for Duo to see. Duo's jaw dropped open in amazement and he took it into his own trembling hands. The sculpture was perfect!   
  
The wood had been expertly carved into the shape of two people, about the same height. They were two men, standing very close together with their hands laced together in a caring and loving gesture. But it wasn't the fact that it was two guys that got Duo, what got Duo was that it was him! Him and the boy before him!  
  
His eyes flickered from the sculpture to the boy. The detail was so amazing it was almost lifelike! On a whim he turned it over and noticed a blood stain on the back, two of them. One from the cut that was freshly made and the other from the time the boy had cut himself and thrown the sculpture across the room. Duo closed his fingers around the piece and smiled, his eyes nearly watering from happiness.  
  
"Why am I this happy?" He asked softly. "My mind is saying this is one of the sweetest things you have ever done for me… but that doesn't make sense."  
  
The boy looked at Duo, an obvious sadness in his face, yet mixed with a sense of joy. Closing the steps between them he wrapped his hands around Duo's, enclosing the piece of carved wood between their hands.   
  
"You're remembering things. I wish I could help you more."  
  
"How can I remember something that never happened?" Duo asked. He didn't understand this! It didn't make sense!   
  
That comment affected the boy and he pulled his hands away in a very cold gesture. He stepped back a ways, farther then before and watched Duo with sad eyes.  
  
Duo felt horrible. "I'm sorry… it just… I don't understand any of this!"  
  
The boy nodded slowly. "This was one of our happiest memories. When I gave you that gift." He gestured lightly to the sculpture in Duo's hand. "And when I cut my hair."  
  
Duo closed his eyes and felt that same warm feeling surge up in him again. Happiness, bright happiness, like he was…  
  
His eyes snapped open and widened.  
  
Like he was in love?  
  
He shook his head and stepped back. "No… that doesn't make sense," he murmured softly to himself. "None of this… none of this makes sense!"  
  
The boy closed the distance between them once again and wrapped his arms around Duo, pulling him close in a light embrace. Gently he pushed Duo's head against his chest and murmured soft words to calm him, holding him with a great amount of gentleness. Duo's first reaction was to jerk away… but he didn't.  
  
The embrace felt natural, warm and comforting. Once the boy's arms surrounded him he found he didn't want to leave, ever. In fact he found himself embracing the boy back, perfectly comfortable with resting his head on the boy's chest and closing his eyes, letting the boy's sweet and soft words calm his confusion. The embrace felt so natural… so right.   
  
Everything about this boy felt right. It didn't bother him at all that they were both men, hugging in an empty cabin where this boy obviously lived. In fact, now that he thought about it, even the cabin seemed familiar in a new sense. Not familiar from many dreams, but in a more home-like sense. He could have sworn he'd known this place before. But how was that possible?  
  
As he leaned into the boy's embrace the world around him grew softer, the boy's words soon becoming the only sound. The world seemed to fade around him, almost as if he were falling asleep. But he was in a dream; it wasn't possible to fall asleep in a dream… was it?  
  
Duo opened his eyes but found himself floating in darkness, with only the boy holding him still. The cabin and background had disappeared into nothing and instead they floated in weightlessness, almost like they were in space.  
  
"Shh, relax." The boy murmured quietly. "I know it doesn't make sense now but just relax. I'm sure you'll remember more as time goes on, don't worry."  
  
Duo felt his eyelids getting heavy and closed them once again; snuggling closer to the boy before he even realized it. "Don't leave," he whispered softly.  
  
The boy smiled and the embrace tightened around Duo. "I am not going anywhere, I am always here when you need me. I would never leave you."  
  
Duo felt something soft and warm touch his forehead lightly. Had the boy just kissed him?  
  
"I love you Duo, I'm not leaving, ever."  
  
end chapter 10 


	11. part 11

Chapter 11  
  
Days passed quickly after that for everyone. Everything seemed to be caught up in a blur of actions. Sally was released from the hospital with no injuries other than a minor sore throat from being so close to the smoke. And after she heard that it was Quatre's uncle that had saved everyone she was very quick to insist he give up that hotel room and stay with them. Treize was more then happy to follow the old woman's orders. So he moved into the little-used office room in the back of the house.  
  
The plugged fireplace incident was explained to Trowa and he would have been near a nervous breakdown, if it weren't for the fact that the news preceding hadn't been so happy. Marimeia was released from the hospital, finally, and Duo hadn't been hurt so Trowa remained relatively calm when he received the news.   
  
Since her house wasn't in the best shape Marimeia took up temporary residence at Trowa's house, using the couch in the living room as her bed. She still had a good number of stitches but her burns had mostly healed over and with caution the doctors assured her she would return to her normal healthy self soon enough.  
  
So everyone found themselves back at school in no time, and in between the lessons, noisy students and monotone teachers everything else seemed to fade into the background. Of course the memories were still very real, but it was amazing how one was able to forget themselves in school work just like a good fantasy book. While working on a math worksheet or studying for the next test, a near death experience just kind of seemed to fade.  
  
Or at least it did for Duo. Just like with his dreams about the boy and the cabin he found school was also a great place to hide from his current stresses. Granted school raised up stress about tests and pop quizzes and getting homework done, but all that was stress he'd dealt with all his life and he knew how to handle it. He also found another sanctuary in his stories. Oddly enough, or perhaps not, he found his writing style took a more dramatic twist after the recent events and he was able to turn out more pages then usual and his muses seemed to be on over drive. It wasn't long before he carried a notebook with him at all times and was always jotting down ideas or character sketches.   
  
In fact, that's how Sylvia found him nearly a week after all the hectic events had taken place. She found Duo sitting in the hallway, outside one of his classes as he waited for the previous class to finish up and filter out. As had become the norm he had his notebook out and was scribbling down ideas with a look of deep concentration, every once in a while pausing to chew on the end of his pencil in thought, the eraser had long ago bitten the dust.  
  
"Umm, Duo… can I speak to you for a second?"  
  
Duo glanced up from his work and smiled at her. Closing his notebook he stood up and grinned. "Sure, Syl, what's up?"  
  
Her eyes roamed around the hallway nervously for a moment before she sighed softly. "You know those copies you gave me to pass on to everyone else? Well… they're gone."  
  
Duo frowned. "Gone?"  
  
She nodded. "Lost. I can't find them anywhere, I honestly don't know where they went. I mean they were on my desk in the back room of the library and I got up to help someone and when I came back they were gone. I swear I left them on the desk but they just aren't there any more. I didn't mean to lose them-"  
  
Duo smiled softly and placed a hand on her shoulder, interrupting her. "Calm down. They're just photocopies. I can easily make more, it'll just take me a little while. Do you still have the list?"  
  
She nodded and pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket with titles and numbers written neatly across it. She handed him the paper with a slightly embarrassed look. "You know how I hate to lose things."  
  
Duo took the paper, scanned it and grinned. "No biggie, honest. I'll get these to you as soon as I can, and hopefully with a new story for you to glance over."  
  
Her entire face seemed to light up and she smiled. "Another one?! Already?"  
  
"What can I say, Heero's muses are quite active lately."  
  
Sylvia grinned brightly and nodded, then took off down the hall, racing to get to her own class. Meanwhile Duo placed the sheet of paper in his pocket and turned around to go into his own classroom. But instead of the door he found Quatre standing behind him with his arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. Duo nearly bumped into him.  
  
"Heero's muses 'eh?" Quatre said quietly.  
  
Duo laughed nervously and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess." Shrugging he grinned. "Hey! I have a perfectly valid excuse! If people knew I wrote those books do you know how many of them would be swarming at my door? You have no idea how popular Heero Yuy is in this town."  
  
Quatre chuckled softly.  
  
"Wait… how long have you known?"  
  
"A while. Or at least I've suspected for a while. After all my asking around you were the one with the most information about him and I've caught you writing in your notebooks before, writing madly on something that wasn't homework. I had my hints."  
  
Duo glanced down at the notebook in his hand and just shook his head. "Yeah, I guess I haven't made much of an effort to hide lately, have I?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"So, um, what did you want to ask me a while ago? Or, I mean, ask Heero? What did you need to talk to him about?"  
  
Quatre's smile wilted, but only slightly. He glanced down at his watch and frowned even more. "Do me a favor, meet me after your last class… this may take a little while to explain."  
  
Duo raised an eyebrow. "Am I in trouble?"  
  
"Not at all! It just… I'll tell you after class. Don't worry about it though, it's nothing huge, I promise."   
  
With those words the two joined the moving crowd of students and headed to their classes. The rest of the day nothing was said on the subject, even when Quatre joined Duo, Trowa and Hilde and a few other students for another game of volleyball while Marimeia cheered and taunted from the sidelines. So Duo was just left wondering what in the world Quatre wanted to ask him.  
  
**  
  
The soft sounds of bubbling water accompanied by the sweet smell of strong coffee floated through the room around him. Smiling to himself and humming a light tune Treize filled a small mug with the dark liquid, took a long whiff of the smell, then set it on the table and glanced at the floor around him. Various notebooks lay open scattered among sheets of paper with pencil sketches and diagrams. A map of the town was in the corner with certain places marked while a good number of thick and well worn books were open to marked pages with corners that had been folded over many times.   
  
Picking up the mug once again and just holding it in his hands he stepped back into the middle of his circle of papers and scanned them with careful eyes. Picking up one sheet of paper he frowned and smelled the coffee again, then set it back down.  
  
He was in deep concentration, a fury of thoughts and ideas whirling through his head as he looked over the various sources before him. Setting down the coffee mug, still completely full, he picked up a pen and jotted down a few things.  
  
A light knock sounded on the door.  
  
"Come in," he murmured, not looking up from his notebook.  
  
The door swung open and there was a soft chuckle. "Gee, it already looks like home."  
  
Treize glanced up to find Quatre leaning against the doorframe with a grin on his face as he looked over the mess on the floor.   
  
"You realize you will need to move all of that to find a place to sleep tonight?" The blond mocked.  
  
Treize smirked. "Who said anything about sleep?" He waved his hand in a dismissing manner. "A waste of time, that's what it is."  
  
Quatre just shook his head. "Well, in any case there's someone I want you to meet." Taking a step back he ushered Duo into the room in front of him. The braided boy looked around the room and met Treize's face with a confused expression that mirrored the man's. What in the world was Quatre thinking, they both thought, they'd already met once.  
  
"Uncle Treize, meet Heero Yuy." Quatre said softly as he shut the door behind him and Duo.  
  
The older man blinked for a moment then his eyes lit up. "It was a pen name then?"  
  
Quatre nodded.  
  
"Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating that you would choose the exact same name as your pen name!"  
  
Duo glanced between the two, his expression becoming more and more confused. Finally a weak smile crossed his face. "Would you two mind letting me in on this little joke? Why are you so interested in my pen name?"  
  
Treize smiled and gestured for the two to sit down on the padded chairs in one corner of the room, which the two did. Picking up his coffee mug and letting it merely warm his hands he took a seat on the coffee table before them, after brushing a few of the papers to the side. Setting down his mug he crossed his hands as a rest for his chin and watched Duo closely.  
  
"First, I must ask, where did you get the pen name? Did you hear it some where? Is it the name of a person you met? An old friend? Anything?"  
  
Duo frowned and leaned back in the chair thinking. "I think it was… no wait, I'm sure. It was my first story character. I never finished the story but I liked the name so much I had to keep it, wrote it around the time my parents were killed and I moved in with Trowa." Duo blushed slightly. "Of course it was a very old story and really bad."  
  
"You just came up with the name? Just like that?"  
  
Duo nodded. "It just kinda popped into my head. You know, it has a neat ring to it, like the perfect name for the hero of a story." Duo chuckled at the little joke. "I think it's Japanese or something."  
  
Quatre nodded. "Yeah, it's Japanese, means something along the lines of 'one' or something like that."  
  
Treize leaned back and rubbed his chin for a moment, in thought.  
  
"Why are you two so interested?" Duo pressed again.  
  
"Heero Yuy was a real person."  
  
Duo blinked. "Say again?"  
  
Quatre smiled softly. "Heero Yuy was an actual person who lived a while ago, near we can figure he was alive some time in the early 1800's. We don't know much about him,"  
  
"I'm in the process of trying to obtain an old photograph of him," Treize interjected.  
  
"But we do know he was a real person who lived in this area around that time. Somewhere in the vicinity of this town or the next one over."  
  
Duo frowned and shrugged. "Ok, so maybe I ran across his name in a history class or something."  
  
"Not likely." Treize took one of the sheets from the floor and looked at it quickly. "No, he wasn't important enough to be in any historical documents, least not any that would be mentioned in a high school class. No he was a…" He put down the paper and ruffled through a few others. "Ah! Here. He was on the lower end, money wise, least as far as I can figure. It appears he did do a good amount of wood carving and building though. He helped the local residents in the town build a good amount of the buildings, aside from the fact that he, himself, lived outside the main town."  
  
"So?" Duo took the sheet of paper and glanced over what Treize had just said. The paper basically held exactly the information he'd just revealed, but in a much more detailed format, along with a list of the possible buildings this Heero may have helped build. "I still don't see what this has to do with me. Or you two for that matter, why are you so interested in someone who's been dead for a good long time?" Duo glanced around the room and smirked. "Is it possible to stalk someone who's dead? Because, if so, you look like you've got it down pretty good."  
  
Quatre chuckled and Treize tried to look offended, he failed.  
  
"We're not stalking him," Quatre said slowly. He knew this was his part to explain, every time Treize tried to explain it he ended up sounding like some raving lunatic who belonged in a padded cell, so instead the job fell to his nephew. "It's a little hard to explain."  
  
Duo turned to face Quatre and waited patiently.  
  
"Ok, how well do you know your Greek mythology?"  
  
Duo shrugged. "About as well as any other high school student. Our English class last year spent a good amount of time on it."  
  
"Well, one of the myths is kind of important. It's one of the older ones, basically the story behind the idea of soul mates. It goes something along the lines of 'a long time ago every one was born with four legs, two heads and four arms'."  
  
Duo smirked. "Trippy."  
  
"Then something happened and Zeus, or whomever, became angry and began tossing down lightning bolts. These bolts split everyone in half and also split up the land into the continents we know today. People were scattered, not to mention they were missing the other halves of themselves. Basically the idea is you spend your entire life searching for the other half of yourself, and you will both be reborn until you find each other again."  
  
Duo nodded. "Ok, I understand that, but I still don't…"  
  
Treize decided it was his turn to jump in. "All myths have a seed of truth in them. All stories do. Everything we humans think of spawns from something real, something tangible we can see, touch or feel. So, it is not too far of a stretch to think that the same is true with this myth. Basically, about five or so years ago, I picked a few random names and traced them to see how often they've been repeated. I skipped the really popular ones, like John Smith, Thomson, Anderson and others like them, and concentrated instead on more rare ones. Heero Yuy is the only name which has brought up any traceable results."  
  
"There were others?" Duo asked, his mind still working to digest everything.  
  
"A few, but for a wide variety of reasons we couldn't follow them. Most of the time it was because they weren't being used by any one in the current times."  
  
"So… wait, let me get this straight. You're saying that I'm the reincarnation of some wood carving guy from the 1800's?" Duo frowned.  
  
Quatre shook his head. "No, all we're saying is that the name has been repeated. We were lucky this time that my uncle seems to have a picture to go with the name, but we won't know until we get it."  
  
Treize nodded. "Mr. Chang should be calling me back in a day or so to confirm. He's in the process of cleaning the photo up and getting rid of the dust and such. But it's quite old and worn."  
  
Duo let out a laugh and just shook his head. "You're telling me that you two have spent the last -- what, six years? -- trying to track down a person who may not even really exist? Not to mention that you're assuming people keep the same looks when they are reborn and the same name? Beyond that you look like you know this guy's entire life history in more detail then the IRS knows the lady next door. How do you even know it isn't some random coincidence?"  
  
Treize stood up to refill his coffee mug, but only after emptying the now cold coffee into a different waiting pot. After filling the mug and taking a deep breath of the aroma he smiled. "We are fairly sure it is the same person. I've managed to trace the name, with variations on spellings mind you, almost all the way back to Japan. He's been travelling through a good many lifetimes, the name is only repeated here in the Americas more then twice. It seems he found his destination to be this area, if I'm not mistaken."  
  
Duo just shook his head. "You know what I think? I think this would make a great story line for some fantasy novel."  
  
Quatre laughed at that. "You planning on writing it?"  
  
Duo smirked. "I just might. But seriously I don't know what to think. So you traced the name, what do you want me to do? I just picked it as my pen name, nothing more."  
  
Quatre nodded. "We know. I guess at this point we just get to wait for the photo to come here. But there's something else you should see too." Quatre pulled a folded paper out of his pocket and handed it to Duo. Duo immediately recognized it as the sketch from about a week back. It was the sketch of the garden in front of Lucrenzia's house.  
  
"Yeah, I remember you showing me this."  
  
"Take a look at the signature," Quatre said softly, gesturing toward the bottom of the page.  
  
Duo looked at the bottom and swallowed, tilting his head slightly. "Heero… Yuy? No way!" He handed the paper back to Quatre. "You're saying this was drawn by that guy you mentioned from the 1800's?"  
  
"Yes," Treize agreed. "I find it very interesting that nearly the same garden was found not too far from here."  
  
Duo smiled and leaned back in the chair. "I think you guys have been watching too much Scooby-doo or X-Files."  
  
Treize smirked back. "Everyone needs a hobby to fill their time."  
  
"Sure, some collect stamps, some draw comics but you two… you track down dead people who might be alive again. Yeah, just a hobby. Sure, uh-huh. Yeah… right."  
  
Quatre just laughed.  
  
**  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"In the bathroom!" Duo called back.  
  
Trowa peeked his head around the corner to see Duo rummaging through the medicine cabinet. "Looking for something?"  
  
Duo nodded. "Sleeping pills. I've been having trouble lately and I'm sick of lying in my bed and staring at the ceiling."  
  
Trowa reached down and pulled open a different drawer, the one that usually held his mother's hair things. Pulling the drawer nearly all the way out he finally retrieved a bottle of pills from the very back.   
  
"How'd you know they were there?" Duo asked, taking the bottle.  
  
"I've used them once or twice." Trowa said with a shrug. "They're really strong, so I'd only suggest one, if not half of one."  
  
Duo nodded and took out one of the pills, then placed the bottle back and headed for the kitchen to find something to cut the pill in half.  
  
"You really just having troubles sleeping?" Trowa asked softly.  
  
Duo turned around and smiled lightly. "Yeah, that's all it is, don't worry. Nothing huge. I'm just getting real sick of the nightmares lately and need to get rid of them. See you in the morning."  
  
"Yeah… night."  
  
Duo cut the pill in half and swallowed it with a drink of water then crawled into bed after saying 'good night' to Mari. Slipping into bed he pulled the covers up around him and sighed silently.  
  
"I hope this works."  
  
** 


	12. part 12

Chapter 12  
  
There was that strange roaring again. The sound of interference filled his ears, but it was far away and he could still hear other things around him. His eyes were shut and all beneath him he felt warmth… a person's body.  
  
Someone was holding him.  
  
Feelings of peace and contentment filled Duo's mind and he decided against his original thought of opening his eyes. This was too good; it felt too wonderful to let sight take away anything. Sight often took away the fantasy, but this time he wouldn't let it. Instead he just lay there as the warm body held him and he could smell the sweet scent of spring on the breeze. Fresh grass just growing, the air smelled a couple hours away from a soft spring shower and he could just faintly hear an owl hooting in the distance.  
  
It was night.  
  
Gentle hands moved through his hair, running through it like a human brush, absent-mindedly. Duo smiled and sighed.  
  
"I could lay like this forever," he murmured softly. And just like before the words rang familiar to his clouded mind. He could have sworn he'd said the exact words in a place like this before.  
  
"So could I."  
  
Duo opened his eyes to find he was lying in the lap of the boy who he normally found in the cabin. He blinked and gasped as he found that they weren't in the cabin at all this time. Instead they lay in a clearing, the sky above them full of thousands of twinkling stars along with a moon that was merely a sliver in the sky. Duo caught his breath and just stared. He'd never seen so many stars in his entire life!  
  
It was amazing what the lack of city lights could reveal in the midnight sky.  
  
Tilting his head slightly he glanced at the boy and found him leaning back against the boulder in front of the cabin, gazing up at the sky as his hands moved lightly through Duo's hair. His eyes were fixed on the sky with a look of child-like amazement and wonder.  
  
"I'm remembering again, aren't I?" Duo whispered softly. The entire scene around him seemed so familiar… just like the last time.  
  
The boy nodded and looked down at him, the love showing plainly in his eyes. Leaning forward he lightly kissed Duo's forehead. "I'd almost forgotten this night… it happened so long ago."  
  
"Another memory," Duo murmured, glancing back to the sky and the clearing around them. "It's beautiful." Moving just slightly he sat up in the boy's lap and leaned back against him so their heads were almost the same height now. "And you live in that cabin?" Duo asked softly.  
  
The boy nodded.  
  
"And down that path?" Duo gestured down the path he'd found himself on once before.  
  
The boy shook his head. "I can't answer… not until you remember or figure it out. I'm only a visitor in this world."  
  
"This world… you mean my dreams, my memories?"  
  
The boy nodded once more.  
  
"It leads to the town doesn't it."  
  
The boy smiled. "Yes."  
  
Duo relaxed and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the haze and roaring coming closer. The drugs were working much faster this time…  
  
"It feel so safe here, I don't want to leave. Can't I just stay here with you…"   
  
He took a gamble and spit the word out before the boy could answer.  
  
"Heero?"  
  
The body under him stiffened and he heard the boy catch his breath and almost whimper softly. Duo's eyes shot open to see the boy staring at him in amazement, a tear slipping down his cheek. Duo sat up and moved so he was no longer in the boy's lap, but now they were facing each other.  
  
The boy was trembling quietly, tears slipping down his face as he just watched Duo. "What did you say?" He whispered softly, his voice strained with tears and a tone of hope that only the most saddened dare have.  
  
"Heero," Duo repeated softly, not sure what else to do.  
  
The boy swallowed and blinked away a few of the tears, then he slowly nodded.   
  
Realization dawned on Duo just as the roaring seemed to sneak up behind him. "I remembered your name!" He said softly, then repeated it louder, trying to yell over the static noise growing up around him.   
  
All around him the word seemed to fade, like a watercolor painting which was dripping away, everything bleeding together. Duo shook his head wildly and dove forward into the boy's arms, holding on to him tightly.  
  
"No! I want to remember more! I want to remember more about you… more about here… more about us!!"  
  
The boy wrapped his arms around Duo fiercely and held him as if his life depended on it. A single word drifted from his lips before the roaring overtook Duo and pulled him into a deep sleep.  
  
"Koibito."  
  
And though Duo had never heard that word before, nor did he know a single bit of Japanese he remembered what it meant. He remembered what it meant!  
  
My love.  
  
**  
  
He starred down at the notebook before him, the pages filled with ink in every possible line. Before him lay pages upon pages of a story… a story he'd had for a very long time. A story he'd written many many times, always editing, always rewriting. But the main parts of the story were always the same, always the same theme and characters.  
  
And now…  
  
Was it all real?  
  
Duo's hands shook and he carefully set down his pen, trying not to draw attention to himself as he sat there out in the schoolyard just looking down at his notebook. He was surrounded by students eating, chatting and playing games but he didn't hear any of them. Instead he just sat there, staring at his notebook and trying to understand.  
  
NO! His mind screamed.  
  
None of this was possible! It couldn't be possible!  
  
Grabbing his notebook he stood up and walked at a quick pace around the school building until he was out of sight from most of the students. Leaning back against the school building wall he dropped the notebook and watched it land in the grass before him. He felt his eyes burn as he slid down the wall and hugged his knees, trying to hold the tears back.  
  
This was ridiculous, why was he crying?  
  
Emotions whirled in his mind that he couldn't explain, emotions that made no sense. He felt lonely, empty, incomplete as if part of him were missing and yet at the same time it wasn't. He didn't understand anything… except for one small fact.  
  
He was in love with the boy from his dreams.  
  
The boy from his dreams… the boy who burned…  
  
Heero.  
  
Heero was…  
  
He'd known the boy in his dreams for a long time. The first time the boy and his burning cabin had appeared in Duo's dreams was the night after his parents had died. The night he'd spent at Trowa's house crying himself into unconsciousness because of what had happened. The fire wasn't his fault, it wasn't his parents' fault, it was just an accident. But however it started they ended up locked in the basement, crying out and pounding on the door as Trowa's father pulled a screaming Duo from the house and held him outside as the house crumbled in front of his eyes.  
  
His parents weren't so much killed by the fire as they were by the building collapsing on top of them. It all crumbled and they were buried, killed long before the firemen could get rid of the rubble or even attempt to get them out.  
  
One would think that after seeing the entire house burn down around your parents and seeing their burnt corpses being pulled from the rubble… one would think that those horrid images would appear in a child's dreams. But no, Duo never had nightmares about his parents. It was always the boy; always the boy locked in his burning cabin as everything burnt down around him.  
  
Once upon a time, not long after the accident, a psychologist had told him the boy in his dream was a creation of his imagination… he'd supposedly created another child which the same thing happened to, a kindred spirit in his mind. And Duo had accepted that explanation, sort of.  
  
But now he knew it wasn't true.  
  
The boy in his dreams was a real person. Had to be! He knew it.  
  
And even more amazing was the fact that the boy in his dreams was most likely the exact same one Quatre and Treize were searching for, which just boggled his mind.  
  
As if on cue he heard footsteps near him. Duo quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself.  
  
"Duo? Are you- what happened?"  
  
Quatre dropped down before him with an expression of concern.  
  
Duo chuckled lightly to himself. Of all the people to find him…  
  
Quatre blinked at his chuckling. "Did something… happen?"  
  
Duo nodded slowly, still chuckling to himself. All of a sudden he found this all very funny. Too funny. Hilarious. He could die of laughter… almost.  
  
"Yeah, I found your Heero Yuy."   
  
Quatre's eyes widened. "What? How? Where?"  
  
Duo picked up his notebook from where it'd fallen on the ground and handed it to Quatre. "He's right there, he's been there the whole time. In my story!"  
  
Quatre sat down in front of Duo and glanced down at the notebook. He read a bit from the page and glanced up. "Did you write this today?"  
  
Duo shook his head. "A couple days ago, before you guys explained all that greek myth stuff." He took a deep breath. "I know who Heero Yuy is… the one you keep mentioning from the 1800's. I know who he is. He's in my head."  
  
Quatre opened his mouth to make a comment but Duo shook his head. "Let me explain. When my parents died I started having this dream about a boy in a cabin who burned… nearly every single night. And I didn't understand the dream so I started writing about it, you know, wanting to put a story to why he burned. Well, I did, and that's the story. I've been working on it on and off for most of my life -- the most recent version being a romance story, which just isn't my style at all -- and now I finally know what's going on.  
  
"See, I figured that someone started the fire at the cabin and so I wrote the story. I gave him two females that liked him, both from richer families. Both were friends and then they fell in love with the same man. And it escalated until the two girls were so angry with him and with each other that they burned the cabin down around him to spite the other. In the end they killed him from their jealousy."  
  
Duo shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "And you want to know the real funny part? His name was Heero Yuy. In the dream, I asked him last night and he said his name was Heero Yuy. His name has always been Heero in the stories, but I honestly couldn't tell you how I guessed the right name. I guess I was just lucky or something." Duo opened his eyes and looked at Quatre, only to find the blonde's eyes quite wide with disbelief.  
  
"How did you know…?" Quatre murmured softly.  
  
"How did I know? Know what?"  
  
Quatre frowned. "My uncle didn't tell you, mostly because I told him not to. The real Heero Yuy died when his cabin was burnt down. He died when it was burnt down around him."  
  
Duo groaned and buried his head in his arms and knees.   
  
"Stay here! I'm going to go call my uncle, he needs to hear this…" Quatre paused and glanced back at Duo. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself."  
  
Duo shook his head and rubbed his eyes, standing up. "No, go call him and get him over here. I want to get this figured out. I want to know who he was and why I'm in all of this. I mean, I have to have some connection to him right?"  
  
Quatre nodded and took off around the corner of the school building, racing as fast as he could. Meanwhile Duo leaned back against the wall and smiled softly. Closing his eyes he remembered the dream from the night before and sighed. He was going to figure all of this out, even if his sanity died in the process.  
  
**  
  
Treize arrived on the scene a few minutes later after a quick call from Quatre. By the time he arrived and Quatre had given him the condensed version of Duo's little revelation Duo had calmed down. His face showed no more signs of his tears or frustration, and instead he'd taken to pacing around in the small area behind the school with them, looking deep in thought.  
  
"You've been writing this story for how long?" Treize asked him, leafing through the notebook with a look of glee on his face.  
  
"Nearly all my life, since I was about ten or so." Duo stopped and glanced up at the school building.   
  
"And these dreams of yours, what are they like? I want to know every detail… it may help us discover more about Heero and your connection to all this."  
  
Duo frowned and leaned against the brick wall, closing his eyes. "They all are pretty much the same, at least until recently. There's this cabin, centered in a small clearing in the woods, with a path leading off in one direction. The boy - no Heero - said it led to town. But I would always find him in the cabin, usually sleeping. Then I would smell smoke and I would try to wake him up. But he would never wake up, and instead the cabin just burnt down around us while we were trapped inside."  
  
Duo paused and opened his eyes, eyeing the row of trees which lay past them, the small forest that surrounded the school building. "Recently, though, the dreams have changed. It started on my 18th birthday. He was awake in the dreams after that, either sitting in the bed or sitting in the corner of the cabin carving something. And then he talked with me a few times. Then, thanks to your sleeping pills, the scenes have changed completely.   
  
"The first night I stayed in the hotel with you guys he spoke with me and I swear I'd heard the words before. Then I tried the pills again and this time we were outside the cabin sitting under the stars and I… it was like déjà vu. I remembered it but knew it had never happened. And then he said something to me in Japanese and I knew what it meant! I don't know Japanese."  
  
Treize rubbed his chin. "Well, there are some things that do fit very well. For one, we know that Heero did die in a fire, and he most likely did live in a log cabin outside of the main town. We also know that he carved things out of wood on a fairly regular basis. Also, I did mention the name originated from Japan, so his speaking Japanese is no surprise. What about this path? Do you possibly know where it is?"  
  
Duo shook his head.  
  
Quatre then smiled. "I saw some paths today while I was out for lunch." Quatre glanced at his watch and smirked when he realized his class had started a long time ago. "Dang, guess I'll have to retake that test," he murmured softly. "But anyway while I was looking for you I walked along the edge of the forest and noticed a few beaten foot paths. Should we look at those?"  
  
Duo grinned back. "Sure… unless you have the burning urge to go take that test."  
  
Treize chuckled. "Normally I wouldn't approve of missing a class, but then I would be a liar if I said I'd never entertained and followed the notion when I was your age."  
  
With that decided Quatre nodded and the trio headed for the footpaths he'd seen earlier. They were going to figure this out, and perhaps they finally had the right leads to follow.  
  
The path itself was quite small, plants and trees having grown in close enough to make travel slow and frustrating. However it still showed signs of recent wear and neither the two boys nor Treize would have been surprised if it was used as a popular escape route for students to skip school. Duo stepped forward and took the lead down the path, since they were forced to walk in a single file line. The idea was Duo would go first and tell them if he recognized anything, though the chances of that were thin since tree and plant growth changed so much in over a hundred years time. And that was still assuming that the braided boy's dreams were accurate.  
  
As Duo walked he listened to the sounds around him and couldn't help but smile. He'd always loved the woods. The soft sounds were so soothing and everything about the tall trees and musty timber smell was calming to his senses. He remembered times when he and Trowa would play among the trees as kids with Marimeia, hiding behind large trunks. Trowa yelling at them both to be careful as they would race up the branches and see who could climb the highest.  
  
Without realizing it he found his pace quickening as he moved down the path, but he had to stop as his vision flashed for a moment. Was it just his imagination or had he seen a well-worn and wide path in front of him? Duo shook his head slightly, no that wasn't right. The path was still small and over grown.  
  
The trees around them became thinner as they walked, curving down a hill. At one point, as they moved forward, the trees cleared away to reveal a murky old lake with vines and over grown reeds on one side. At this point Duo staggered and his hand blinding reached out to grasp onto a nearby tree. Quatre quickly raced to his side.  
  
"Duo? What happened?"  
  
Duo didn't answer, but merely watched the lake, blinking his eyes rapidly like someone who had just stepped out into blinding sunlight. He knew the lake was murky and muddy, but his mind told him at one time it had been clear, clean enough to swim in. And he could recall his own voice in his mind, calling out.  
  
::Come on Heero! It's not that cold! Just jump in already!::  
  
Duo's eyes widened. This had to be the right path!  
  
Shoving past Quatre he raced down the path, running as fast as he could. He couldn't explain it but he knew exactly what he would find at the end of this path. He knew it would end in a clearing and he knew that Heero would be there, waiting.   
  
So he ran. He forgot about Quatre and his uncle, calling after him in worried voices. He forgot about the close trees that caught his clothing and tore at him as he ran. He forgot about the roots which caught his feet and made him stumble and almost lose balance too many times to count. All he cared about was what would be at the end of the path. He needed to get there.  
  
Because he knew when he reached it he would see Heero again. 


	13. part 13

Chapter 13  
  
It all happened so fast that Quatre had to stop and close his eyes for a moment to grab his mental footing. One minute they were walking down the path at a leisurely pace, just watching the trees and plants around them, and the occasional deer or squirrel. Duo had taken the lead, followed by himself while Treize brought up the rear, watching the surroundings with his eagle eyes.  
  
The trees had split and revealed a murky pool of water before them, obviously natural in its creation. It was obvious the small lake had seen better days. Perhaps once, long ago, it was actually a clean lake that animals could have lived in or people could have drank out of, but not anymore. Now plants grew on the sides and in the edges of the water, making it look more like a small marsh area then a lake. It would have made a great movie set or a place for children to have a very messy mud fight.   
  
When they reached the lake Duo had stopped, completely frozen in his steps and just stared. It was times like those that Quatre really wished he was psychic or something. He would have given nearly anything to know what had gone through Duo's head to make him freeze like that and turn so pale. Yet, at the same time that the color washed away from the boy's skin his eyes had taken on a light of happiness… no more like anticipation.   
  
Quatre had gone to ask him what happened and then the next thing he knew the braided boy had shoved past him and taken down the path at top speed. Quatre was nearly sent falling to the ground from the strength of the shove, but he managed to maintain his balance, at least physically. But now he was completely confused.  
  
What had caused Duo to take off like that?  
  
"No time to sit there, we need to go after him." With those words Treize ran past him, nearly diving into the trees after Duo. Quatre blinked and shook off his confusion then raced after his uncle.   
  
His uncle was right, they needed to keep up with Duo, or none of this would ever get explained, least not in the near future. So Quatre ran after them, just barely able to keep his uncle in sight as he wove his way around trees and tried desperately not to trip over the roots and vines which had decided the path was the best place to grow.  
  
Branches slapped at his skin and thorns latched onto his pants, tugging at them feebly. Thank goodness he'd worn jeans that day to school! But he imagined his uncle's khaki pants weren't holding up nearly as well.   
  
The trees before him seemed to break off sharply and suddenly he found himself in a clearing, nearly colliding with his uncle's back. Catching himself on the taller man Quatre stepped past him and leaned over for a second to pant and catch his breath. He hadn't run that much since the track section in gym class his first week. Standing back up he glanced at his uncle and opened his mouth, but Treize stopped him.  
  
Quatre followed his uncle's gesture and saw Duo standing before them.   
  
The trees had fallen away to reveal a small clearing, enough room for a house and a normal sized yard, now that he thought about it. And in fact there was a house before them, or at least the remains of one. A mix of rotted out logs, which were burnt to a dark black, lay in the center of the field in a haphazard form. Rocks jutted out from the pile, speaking of some form of primitive foundation or perhaps an old fireplace? Plants have grown over the burnt ruins, a small tree sprouting near one of the back walls.  
  
Off to the side of the house was a large boulder of a deep gray. And that's where Duo stood. Duo stood next to the boulder, one hand resting on the smooth stone. He looked small against the clearing, small and meek, like a child. As he stood there his entire body quivered lightly and Quatre noticed small tears were sliding down his cheeks.  
  
"Duo…" he whispered softly, not able to get up enough courage to speak any louder.  
  
But Duo didn't hear him, or if he did he didn't respond. Instead he pulled his hand from the rock and slowly walked toward the burnt ruins. His steps were careful, calculated, the kind of steps a person would take when they weren't quite sure if their legs would hold them. Moving slowly Duo made his way to the ruins, and when he got there he dropped to one knee. Quatre watched him purse his lips together as he dug his fingers into the ground, ripping away plants and digging into the dirt.  
  
It looked like he was digging near where the center of the cabin would have been. Why? What was he digging for?   
  
"Should we… help him?" Quatre didn't know what to do, all he knew was he didn't want to just stand there and watch. He wanted to talk to Duo, wanted to find out what was going on in his friend's head. Wanted to know what he was thinking and why he was acting the way he was.  
  
Treize rested a hand on Quatre's shoulder. "You might be too young to remember, but when your mother died you would still walk up to her room every morning, expecting to wake her up with breakfast."  
  
Quatre blinked in surprise. Yes, he remembered that, but what did that have to do with Duo?  
  
"No one stopped you," Treize said quietly. "Even though you knew she was dead you would still make breakfast for her and take it up to her room like you did when she was sick, like you expected her to be there when you opened the door."  
  
"I did, for a while." Quatre whispered, still watching Duo dig into the earth. He'd moved now, digging a little ways away from where he'd started.  
  
"He expected to find someone here. He expected to find a fully built cabin and a person."  
  
Quatre's eyes widened. "He thought we'd find Heero?"  
  
Treize nodded.   
  
"So then what is he searching for?"  
  
Treize didn't get a chance to answer, because as Quatre asked Duo had found something. Sitting back he pulled something from the earth that neither of the two could see. He held it in his hands for a moment then pulled it closer to his body, nearly cradling the small object, and closed his eyes, his body shaking with his sobs.  
  
At this time Quatre decided he'd had enough. He pulled away from his uncle and slowly approached Duo. Kneeling down in front of him he waited quietly for Duo's tears to die away and for the boy to calm down.  
  
But instead the tears didn't stop. They only seemed to get worse and Duo began to rock slightly, cradling whatever the object was against his chest. His eyes were shut tightly and still the tears poured out. In between sobs he was actually murmuring words, nearly incoherent to Quatre.  
  
Quatre frowned. "Duo… Duo?" He wasn't a fool; he recognized the similarities between what was happening and what had happened when Duo went into shock before. But he didn't know what to do. He didn't think hugging Duo would help at the moment, in fact it might make things worse. He didn't know what to do!  
  
What happened in the next second was one of the most amazing things that Quatre or Treize had ever seen. In the end it was something that neither of them could believe. No one would have believed it, unless they'd witnessed it right before their eyes.  
  
**  
  
Trowa stopped by his front door and rummaged through his pocket for his keys. Marimeia was at the hospital, having them check over her stitches and stuff and wouldn't be home for a while. Meanwhile Duo… Duo hadn't been in class that afternoon actually.  
  
He frowned and stopped searching for his keys. Instead he wrapped his hand around the doorknob and turned it; not at all surprised when he found it unlocked. Trowa just smiled softly and shook his head as he stepped into the apartment.  
  
"Duo? You home?"  
  
The house only answered him with silence.  
  
**  
  
The vision was like magic; something that not even the most talented artist could have reproduced. Quatre watched in amazement as Duo sat there, rocking slowly back and forth as he murmured to himself and hugged the hidden object.  
  
What happened next could only be described as something liquid. The change was so smooth that Quatre couldn't tell where it started or where it stopped, all he knew was that the person before him was changing, and it was no longer Duo.  
  
Simultaneously everything about Duo changed, melting into another form. His clothes remained but moved as the body beneath them changed and shifted to another form. And after the transformation had taken place Quatre found himself kneeling next to the same boy he'd seen nearly a week ago at the burned remains of Duo's home.  
  
Before him knelt a boy with chocolate brown hair, arranged much like it hadn't been touched since he woke up that morning. His body was thinner then Duo, as was evidence by how the clothes hung from his willowy limbs. The entire body shook and when the boy opened his eyes Quatre found he had the same bright blue eyes as before.  
  
The boy opening his eyes was what broke Quatre from his strange trance and he fell over backward, crashing to the ground while his side hit a half-buried rock, hard. Crying out in pain he sat up and rubbed his side, then blinked and looked back to Duo.  
  
But Duo was gone. And the other boy was still sitting in his place.  
  
"Who are you?" Quatre choked out.  
  
The boy blinked back at him and his body shivered. His brows furrowed together and he glanced around himself in wonderment, not really seeming to notice Quatre was sitting before him, or that Treize was watching a few steps behind. Instead the boy uncurled his hands and looked at the object he held in his hands. He stared at it for a moment then wrapped his fingers back around it, tighter this time.  
  
Struggling on shaky limbs he stood to his feet and looked around, turning slowly until he'd seen the entire clearing around them. Then he walked, or rather stumbled, over to the boulder where Duo had started and grabbed onto it hard, his entire body trembling.  
  
Quatre stood up but did not approach the boy. "Duo?" He asked.  
  
The boy shook his head, but otherwise did not look up from the boulder that he clutched with a death-grip.  
  
Treize stepped forward. "Heero."  
  
At that the boy's body jerked. Still holding tightly to the rock for support he turned and met eyes with Treize. He opened his mouth but no words came out. The boy swallowed hard and coughed once, then tried to speak once more, and this time he succeeded, his voice scratchy from disuse.  
  
"How… do you know… my name?"  
  
Quatre's eyes widened and he stepped forward. "Your name? Who are you? What happened to Duo?"  
  
The boy shook his head, holding in one hand for a moment as if he were in pain, then he shook it off and frowned. "I don't… I can't…" The boy took a deep breath and tried again. "He's in shock again… isn't he?"  
  
"Again?" Treize asked.  
  
"It happened before…" Heero closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his head. "By another burnt house," Heero let the sentence fall away, looking quite confused.  
  
"That night!" Quatre moved forward. "Some one lit a fire near him and it affected him in a strange way, he ran out of the house into the night. Trowa and I went looking for him and we found you by the ruins of his old house."  
  
Heero's body shivered and sweat was beading slightly down his forehead as he struggled to stay standing and not fall forward. The entire image of Heero reminded Quatre of someone who'd been in a wheelchair all their life and for some reason had just attempted to stand after who knows how many years of not using their legs.  
  
Treize stepped forward and stretched out his hand to Heero. "This place holds powerful memories for both of you, that much I can tell. Perhaps it would be a good idea to find a neutral place to discuss things, a place that isn't so… emotionally charged."  
  
Heero eyed Treize's hand for a moment, considering the suggestion, then nodded his agreement. Hesitantly he reached his hand forward and placed it in Treize's. Finally he let go of the boulder and leaned on Treize, his body relaxing just slightly.  
  
Quatre walked over and took Heero's arm, placing it over his shoulders to help support him. He figured he would be better off helping since Treize was a good amount taller then both of them. Moving at a light pace the three started back down the path, leaving the burnt remains behind them. But Heero still clutched the yet unseen object in his hand.  
  
**  
  
Trowa dropped his school bag and flipped on the light, stepping past the living room to the kitchen. Grabbing a drink he headed back for the bedroom.   
  
How odd, the house was almost never this quiet, even when Duo was in one of his writing moods. Frowning to himself he stepped into the bedroom, finding the room completely dark. Trowa flipped on the light and glanced around, yet he found no trace of Duo anywhere.  
  
"Duo? You here?" After a second he added. "Mari?"  
  
If neither of them were home why was the front door unlocked?  
  
Trowa blinked as he noticed light coming from the bathroom on the other side of their bedroom. He hadn't left the light on that morning. Setting his drink on the bedside table he walked toward the bathroom. Why was the light on?  
  
**  
  
The moment they stepped out of the woods back onto the school grounds Quatre located the nearest phone and called them a taxi, so Heero wouldn't have to exert anymore of his severely waning energy. Before they knew it they were back at Sally's house and in the room which had been given to Treize. Luckily Sally was out for the day, leaving a note on the table that she and Lucrenzia had gone for a long shopping day at the local antique house. Next to the note there was an envelope addressed to Treize Kushrenada.  
  
Quatre led Heero to the couch and gave him a blanket to wrap himself in along with a warm yet watered down mug of tea, which he had requested. Quatre sat down next to him on the couch, just waiting silently, while Treize entered the room and stopped in the doorway. Frowning lightly the older man regarded Heero with a serious glance.  
  
"When I started this search, realistically I didn't expect to get any results. But I believe we have succeeded."  
  
Both Heero and Quatre glanced at Treize in question.  
  
Treize quickly recounted the summarized version of how they both knew about Heero and had traced his name from Japan to the current day in hopes of proving the old Greek mythology of the soul mates. Heero listened quietly without any response, only listening and occasionally nodding.  
  
"It occurred to me we might find one person who had been reborn. But to find two souls… But I'm getting ahead of myself. Correct me if I'm wrong Heero, but you knew Duo in your previous life didn't you?"  
  
Heero set down the mug and nodded slowly.  
  
"Did you both die in that cabin? When it burnt to the ground?"  
  
Once again Heero nodded, showing no emotion. Quatre found himself amazed, to say the least. Either Heero didn't have emotions (which was an absurd thought) or he hid them perfectly.   
  
"Then I believe it is safe to say that my conclusions are correct, or at least on the right track. I can't be sure, I haven't traced Duo's name back, but I believe we found not just one, but two souls. Two souls who are mated together and, after finding each other in the last life and dying together…"  
  
Quatre's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "They ended up in the same body."  
  
Treize nodded.  
  
And after a moment Heero nodded as well, confirming the amazing truth.  
  
**  
  
Trowa stepped forward and pushed open the bathroom door. His eyes flickered around the lit room, crossing the sink, the mirror, the bathtub, the window and the small closet for toiletries in the corner. No Duo to be found.  
  
So where was he?  
  
Trowa shivered lightly, getting a creepy feeling from the whole circumstances. But he didn't get a chance to act on that strange feelings, for at that moment he felt something slam into his back, shoving him into the bathroom.  
  
Without warning he stumbled forward, just barely managing to catch himself on the edge of the tub as the door behind him slammed shut and he heard the door lock securely.  
  
Trowa whirled around and grabbed the doorknob, pulling on it with all his might, but it didn't budge, he was locked in. On the other side of the door he could hear scraping and other sounds… sharp sounds soon accompanied by the sharp smell of smoke.  
  
He was locked in and someone had started a fire!  
  
Racing to the window he pulled away the curtains, only to find the small window was securely nailed shut on all sides, without a chance to budge it. Not to mention that thanks to an old style divider even if he could break the glass he wouldn't have been able to slip out without a large amount of difficulty.  
  
Turning he noticed smoke starting to seep under the door.   
  
He couldn't think, he was trapped in the room and the smoke was going to quickly get worse, not to mention the fire would probably come through the door soon. Instead he turned and grabbed the bath towel rack from the wall, ripping the fancy antique from its support; it had been loose for years.  
  
Swinging as hard as he could he hit the doorknob once.   
  
Nothing.  
  
Swinging again with a cry of frustration he hit it once more.  
  
The doorknob broke out of the side, splintering the door and landing on the floor to roll somewhere under the sink.  
  
Kicking open the door Trowa raced out of the bathroom into a room full of smoke and fire… but he didn't make it far.  
  
For at that moment something hard crashed against the back of his head and he crumbled to the floor, unconscious.  
  
**  
  
"You may find this of interest." Treize said softly, pulling a plastic coated piece of paper from the envelope in his hands. Taking a deep breath he handed the paper to Heero and Quatre.  
  
Both boys recognized it immediately as the photo Treize had mentioned earlier.  
  
There were three people in the picture, holding hands and standing together posing for them camera in old 18th century style clothing. Quatre only expected to recognize the two men on the side, but he also recognized the person in the center.  
  
Duo stood on one side, dressed in fairly high-class clothing for that time, his signature braid of hair hanging down off to the side. To the opposite side of him was Heero, dressed in a more middle class outfit, his clothes rumpled from a days work, dirt smudged slightly over the clothing.  
  
And in the center, between both of them, was he most unlikely person in the world.  
  
Heero's voice caught in his throat and came out in a low growl.  
  
"Hilde."  
  
**  
  
To see the photo:   
http://www.postavalon.com/radishland/firemated.html  
or  
http://www.satinflame.net/levlair/gen/firematednc.jpg  
  
end of part 13 


	14. part 14

Chapter 14  
  
"Hilde," Heero nearly growled out.  
  
Quatre's eyes widened. "You know her?"  
  
Heero met Quatre's eyes and nodded. "She's the one who started this whole mess, the one responsible for burning down the cabin while Duo and I were inside."  
  
"But that's impossible… that was so long ago. I mean Hilde is Marimeia's friend right now unless-" Quatre's voice fell off.  
  
"Then she's been reborn as well?" Heero's eyes narrowed and he angrily hit the table with his fist, causing it to shake loudly.  
  
"How do you know her? I mean, was she someone important back in… your life?"  
  
Heero's eyes only narrowed more. "Yes, she's the one responsible for all of this."  
  
Quatre opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Looking back he was honestly glad the phone had interrupted him, because he really had no idea what he would have said. Hilde had killed Heero and Duo in the past? That just didn't seem to fit the Hilde he'd come to know. But then again, he reflected, he didn't know her that well at all and first impressions could be very misleading.  
  
Treize crossed the room and picked up the phone without missing a beat. Answering it the two boys watched as his brows knit together and his hand tightened around the receiver. The room grew very silent as he listened… then he passed the phone to Quatre after a second.  
  
"Hello?" Quatre asked quietly.  
  
"Quatre?! Is Duo over at your house?!" It was Marimeia on the other line, and from the sounds of her voice she was in the middle of tears mixed with hysterics. Quatre was almost afraid to ask what had happened.  
  
"He's… umm yeah he's here." Quatre glanced to Heero in worry. How was he supposed to explain to Mari that her adopted cousin had changed bodies with a boy from the 1800's? This situation certainly wasn't getting any easier.  
  
"I need to speak to him! Right away!"  
  
"Mari, calm down. He's… in the bathroom right now. What happened?"   
  
"Trowa… he…" Marimeia's voice shook over the phone and Quatre could only imagine the fragile state she must be in. "He's in the hospital," she choked out.  
  
"What?! What happened to him? Is he ok?" Forget holding down his panic, Quatre nearly jumped to his feet from the news. First Marimeia had been attacked, her kitchen blown up. Then his fireplace was stuffed with a quilt and now Trowa? His mind was screaming, screaming at him that he needed to get over there and help. But what could he do? How could he help-  
  
Quatre relaxed slightly as he felt his uncle place a comforting hand on his shoulder. The blond boy took a deep breath and met his uncle's eyes, forcing away the rising panic in his mind. No, he needed to stay calm. Marimeia was panicked enough for all of them.  
  
Treize took the phone and pressed the intercom button so all three of them could hear Marimeia's explanation. And what they heard floored them, making them all turn pale and white as ghosts.  
  
"They found him in his house… the place was burning real bright. Some psycho covered the floor with flammable liquid, cleaning fluids. Gods, Quatre, they tried to kill him! He's burnt up really bad; they have him in surgery or something right now. They won't let me see him! Quatre he… I don't know if he…" Marimeia's voice broke into tears and she sobbed into the phone.  
  
"Trowa?!?"  
  
Quatre spun around as he heard Duo's panicked voice in the room. But the boy sitting next to him was still Heero. Quatre blinked and realized that Heero's eyes were wide with panic and they had shifted from a cold blue to a panicked violet. Was it possible that both boys could be in control of the body at the same time?  
  
But before he got a chance to ask Heero blinked and his eyes narrowed once more, sliding back to their icy blue shade. Heero stood up and glared down at Quatre.  
  
"Where is she?" He demanded. His voice was full of rage, deadly in its anger. Quatre shivered.  
  
"Hilde?"  
  
One nod, clear and precise.  
  
"At Lucrenzia's house," Quatre swallowed and summoned up his courage, every small bit of it he could muster. "I'll show you the way."  
  
A nod, once again.  
  
Treize turned and watched the two boys race from the house a little lost at what he should do in the situation. After a second of thought he picked up the phone and spoke to Marimeia. The first order of business was to calm her down so she didn't panic herself to death. Then the second order of business would be to call the police and the fire department. He had a horrible feeling.  
  
This entire business had started with a fire.  
  
He had a terrible feeling it would end the same way.  
  
**  
  
Heero ran as fast as his legs could carry him, refusing to acknowledge any of the telltale warning signs that he was losing energy fast. He didn't understand why he was in control of Duo's body and he didn't know how long it would last, but he couldn't worry about that right now. Right now the chief matter of importance was stopping Hilde, once and for all. He really didn't want to kill his old friend, but at the same time he didn't know how else to stop everything she'd apparently done. And he also knew that if he didn't stop her she would still keep trying to kill people. Hilde would never let the two of them be happy, not after the way she thought they'd betrayed her.  
  
His prime concern was Duo's safety and happiness. Even if they were stuck in the same body, even if they could only touch and feel in Duo's dreams he didn't care! Duo had to stay safe and alive, no matter what. And if he could protect Duo at this one moment… then he would do everything in him power to make up for not being able to save his love that day.  
  
Faintly he registered Quatre running beside him, a step ahead as he led the way down the street. Heero didn't quite know what to think about this strange blond boy and his uncle. Trust wasn't an issue, he knew that. This young man felt fiercely protective of all his friends, and had this been a war or an earlier period in time Heero had no trouble imagining the timid and angelic seeming blond picking up a gun and joining the fight. Looks were deceiving, sometimes in the strangest ways.  
  
They reached Hilde's house just as Heero was setting his mind to the task. The only thought in his mind at that time was to stop Hilde, nothing more. She had to be stopped. No matter what.  
  
Both boys slowed to a cautious walk as the house came into sight. Stepping onto the walkway leading to the house, Heero's eyes roamed the yard, watching for any movement that might be threatening. His eyes crossed over the small flower garden and he let out a small growl.  
  
"She does live here."  
  
Quatre's eyes flickered from the garden to Heero. "That sketch?"  
  
Heero nodded. "I sketched the garden in front of her room once, it's the same, exactly."  
  
Quatre shivered, in spite of himself.  
  
They reached the front door and Quatre went first, insisting that there was an old woman that lived with Hilde in the house. Heero reluctantly let Quatre knock on the door, and after a moment pushed it open and step into the house.  
  
"Lucrenzia? Ms. Noin, are you home?"  
  
The house around them sat silently, the high off white walls curving up into a vaulted ceiling. The size of the living room and lack of second floor in the main room lent a strange echo to Quatre's call. It sounded almost as if a young ghost called back to them.  
  
Stepping up the small set of stairs before them, leading to the living room, Quatre placed his hand on the wall and looked around. Heero could practically see the blond boy's hair standing on end. There was just something so wrong about this entire set up… but he wasn't sure what.  
  
Quatre passed a corner, stepping completely into the living room, when she struck. One minute he was on his feet, looking around the room with narrowed eyes, and the next he was lying sprawled on the floor. Above him stood Hilde, breathing heavily with a long piece of metal in her hand. It was a small shovel, belonging to a fire place set, and she'd hit Quatre right on the front of the head with it, sending him crumbling to the floor without even time to cry out.  
  
Heero instinctively jumped forward to help but froze as she lifted the small metal shovel again, ready to strike.   
  
"Don't move!" She hissed angrily.  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed.  
  
Before him Hilde blinked lightly, her death grip on the shovel loosening, just a little. "He-Heero?" She took a small step back from Quatre's body but a second later her shocked expression was gone, replaced by one of rage. "I honestly thought Duo would walk through that door with him, but this is even better." Her face twisted into a sick smile.  
  
"I'm going to enjoy killing you again for what you did."  
  
Jumping forward she charged at him, swinging the shovel in wide arches. Heero knew he couldn't abandon Quatre, nor was running away an option. So instead he ducked and jumped past her, trying to get out of the way. Mostly he succeeded, except that the corner of the shovel caught his arm and tore the skin, painfully. Rolling away from Hilde he clutched his arm and moved to a kneeling position, watching her with a glare. She'd blocked his only known exit.  
  
"Where have you been hiding Heero? I spent forever looking for you. Who would have known that you were here all the time."  
  
She jabbed with the shovel. Heero dropped back and kicked it away with his feet.   
  
"Why did you attack everyone else, Hilde? They have nothing to do with what we did!"  
  
Hilde growled angrily and tried to hit him once again. This time she missed and hit the wall hard, cracking the wooden paneling.  
  
"Duo was mine! You took him from me! I'm the only one who can make him happy! Not that prissy cousin he has! Not his sickening brother! And certainly not that childish, annoying blond! Duo is mine! Mine!!"  
  
Heero's mind flew as he tried to evade her random swings and uncontrolled jabs. Her movements were quick, angry and unpredictable, a very dangerous combination. It was all he could do to evade her and keep himself standing, he didn't even get time to look around the room for a weapon to use against her. He kept his eyes locked on the long black piece of metal, watching it swing back and forth. He didn't know what to do.  
  
Things would have been so much easier if he didn't have to worry about the fact that he was in Duo's body!  
  
"Duo's not yours!" He yelled back angrily, just barely managing not to trip over a coffee table that hit the back of his legs. "And I didn't take him from you, you lost him all on your own."  
  
"LIAR!" She screamed at him. Jumping forward she swung the shovel high and fast, the metal suddenly flying from her hands.   
  
Heero didn't have a chance to move out of the way as the piece of metal flew at him, hitting him hard in the chest. Gasping for breath he dropped to the floor and cradled his stomach in pain.  
  
"You'll never take him from me again."  
  
Heero coughed and watched with watery eyes as her feet moved closer. One lifted and kicked him in the stomach, knocking the air out of his body once again. Gasping in pain he rolled on to the ground, his vision growing blurry.  
  
His hand hit the floor and he felt cold metal…  
  
The shovel!  
  
He was touching it, in his hand!  
  
Clasping his fingers around it he tried to raise the piece to hit her back.  
  
But at the same time her foot slammed into the side of his head, shattering his world into millions of black, red and white spots.  
  
"I'll never let you hurt him again." Hilde growled.  
  
Heero fell into darkness.  
  
**  
  
Hilde watched his body come to a stop, the boy's hand dropping back to the ground and letting go of the shovel. She'd done it. She'd finally killed him!  
  
Kneeling down she glared at the still body, not quite sure if she could trust him yet. After all he could be faking it, or just be unconscious. Best not to take any chances.  
  
Her lips twisted into a sick smile and she chuckled lightly. "You always loved fire so much Heero, I think you can burn again."  
  
Stepping back from the body she crossed the room and stepped into the kitchen. She returned a moment later with the supplies she'd set out earlier. Lighting the match in a single matchbook she watched the flame, then placed it back in the book, immediately the entire book ignited in her hand. Tossing it forward quickly the book landed on the carpet next to Heero's head, the flames immediately jumping to the surrounding carpet and couch.   
  
Repeating the action she lit another match book and threw it, causing it to land on the opposite side of Heero, then she threw two more, between her and him. Stepping back she grinned as the flames grew and danced before her eyes.  
  
It wouldn't be long. Not long before the flames reached his skin, not long before the flames covered his skin. She found herself wishing he wasn't dead yet, that he would actually wake up while the flames licked at his skin. She wanted to hear him scream in pain again.   
  
Pain.  
  
Pain was what he deserved for hurting her the way he did!  
  
"nn…"  
  
Behind her there was a soft groan and Hilde spun around to see the slim figure of Quatre stirring on the floor. The blond moaned loudly, his hand coming up to tenderly touch the large gash that now crossed his forehead. Wincing he smeared a good amount of the blood away from his eyes.  
  
"What…?" He blinked a few times and his eyes moved around the room, only to lock on the fire. His blue eyes widened in fear. Sitting up he tried to move but his eyes grew hazy and his legs didn't seem to want to listen. So instead of jumping forward to help, he crumbled to the ground again, clutching his head in pain.  
  
"That's quite a bump you've got there," Hilde said softly with a menacing chuckle.   
  
Quatre blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to focus them at her. But he couldn't, his head still hurt too much!  
  
"Duo…" He moaned, reaching feebly for the dancing flames.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
Hilde blinked and turned around slowly to look at the figure, now surrounded by the dancing flames. No, the boy couldn't be right. He'd been hit in the head, he was delusional…  
  
But he was right.  
  
Somehow, where she'd knocked Heero to the ground before… he just wasn't there any more! In his place lay another boy of about the same build; slightly taller and more filled out though. Long brown hair spread out from his head, covering the side of his body in a disheveled braid that was quickly falling apart.   
  
Hilde felt her body begin to shake.  
  
Had she been wrong? What was going on?  
  
She'd attacked Heero, right?  
  
That had been Heero she'd almost killed, right?  
  
It had to be!  
  
Yet before her was Duo and not Heero.   
  
Had she actually attacked the one person she'd been trying to protect?!  
  
No!  
  
"Nonononononononononononononononononononono…"  
  
The word slipped from her mouth over and over again as her eyes became impossibly wide and her body shook. NO! It couldn't be Duo! NO! She hadn't killed the only one she ever loved! NO! NO! NO!  
  
Rational thought, whatever she may have had left at that moment, ceased completely. She forgot to realize how much the fire might hurt her. She forgot to realize that she could be hurt. She forgot everything except for the still form in front of her, blocked by a wall of flames.   
  
Hilde jumped forward, right into the flames. She fell to her knees right by Duo, her legs settling on the leaping reds and golds, yet she didn't seem to notice. Instead she just kept yelling, screaming at the body lying before her as she shook it wildly.  
  
"WAKE UP! Oh god! Not you Duo! Wake up! Tell me I didn't kill you! Please, Duo! Please!!!"  
  
The boy before her wouldn't move, he didn't even seem to be breathing.  
  
Crying loudly, tears streaming down her face she wrapped her arms around him and tried to lift him. She tried to stand and carry him to a safer place, but the flames which burnt her legs finally reached her system and she cried out in pain, her legs giving out. She fell to the floor, dropping Duo outside of the flames but otherwise unable to move him any more.  
  
Crawling up to him she wrapped her arms around him protectively as the flames filled the room around them.  
  
"Please don't die. I didn't kill you. I swear I didn't! I swear… I never wanted to kill you… I only wanted to love you… please Duo…"  
  
Hilde's head jerked up to meet Quatre's eyes, who was still trying to stand and had mostly managed to by now.  
  
"Help him!" She yelled out in panic.  
  
Quatre did his best to stand, the world around him fuzzy and unclear, spinning in every direction. Taking a few shaky steps he held on tightly to the wall and made his way over. Kneeling down he pulled Duo up by the arms.  
  
Just as he tried to lift him up Hilde moved forward and closed her lips around Duo's kissing him softly. It only lasted for a moment before she pushed them both away, toward the door.  
  
Quatre didn't take the time to argue. Concentrating hard he strained and pulled Duo up, halfway dragging the boy toward the door.   
  
His mind set on the door.  
  
It seemed so far away and he couldn't tell if it was vertical or horizontal…  
  
But still he pulled on Duo's limp body, dragging him down the steps, nearly tumbling himself, and out the door where he collapsed on to the grass.  
  
He wanted to get up and go back in to help Hilde…  
  
But his world spun too much, and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open.  
  
So instead he lay there and cried for help, the incoherent words falling from his mouth as he tried not to cough and choke from the smell of smoke.  
  
He just hoped someone would hear.  
  
Beside him Duo lay completely still. Quatre wasn't even sure if he was still breathing.  
  
** 


	15. part 15

Chapter 15  
  
The next thing Quatre knew he was lying on the grass as a pair of light hands were holding his head, and wrapping a strip of something grainy across his head and over his hair. It itched. But at least the blood had been washed away from his eyes and he could actually make sense of the world around him. Everything had stopped spinning, instead his head had settled to a light thudding. He also recognized a small pain in his arm but it was very dulled. Pain killers?  
  
Frowning he tried to sit up and managed a lot better then he had expected to. The hands left his head and he found he was surrounded by people in white uniforms… doctors.   
  
"Duo!"  
  
Jerking away from the people trying to help him he looked around in worry, his head spinning lightly. Where was Duo? What had happened after he'd gotten them out of the house?  
  
A low moan answered him from not too far away and he looked in that direction, but only found it blocked by another man dressed in white.  
  
"Your friend is fine," the unfamiliar man said lightly.  
  
Quatre ignored him and shoved the man aside, pushing past him. He breathed a great sigh of relief as he found Duo lying in a low stretcher. His arm was bandaged tightly, a little red showing through the gauze, but not too much. A large bruise was forming on one side of his face, nearly giving him a black eye. But when his violet eyes met Quatre's he smiled weakly.  
  
"I'm betting I'm not nearly in as good a shape as you," he choked out softly.  
  
Quatre chuckled lightly. "Yeah, you're much worse."  
  
"What happened?" Duo asked in an even softer voice.   
  
Quatre turned to look at the house beyond them. The flames had spread to amazing heights, and now the house was being drenched with fire hoses, the firemen trying their best to quench the flames while there was still a house left to save.  
  
"Hilde was…" Quatre stopped and took a step toward the house. "Is she still inside?!"  
  
Duo sat up quickly on the stretcher and stared at the house, his hand clutching tightly at his chest. "Gone…" he whispered lightly, his voice taking on a very sad tone.   
  
Quatre turned back. "Gone? What's gone?"  
  
Duo opened his mouth to answer but only emitted a soft sob, tears forming at the edges of his eyes. Something about him at that moment made him look so young, like a child who'd come home to an empty house and found his parents had left him all alone.   
  
Beyond them the water hoses put out the last of the flames and the firemen raced into the house. At the rate of their movement Quatre guessed they knew someone else was still in the house. How long had he been unconscious before they showed up? Was Hilde still alive? Could she have survived in the house for that long?  
  
"There's a body!"  
  
The cry echoed out from the house and both boys held their breaths, waiting for a response.  
  
A moment later a fireman emerged, holding a limp body in his arms. From what Quatre could see the skin was burned badly around the legs but otherwise there weren't that many other severe burns. She seemed relatively all right save for the torn and burnt clothing; her brown hair wasn't even burnt.  
  
Wait…  
  
Brown hair?  
  
Quatre shook his head and looked again, then was startled as beside him Duo jumped out of the stretcher and rushed across the grass on shaky legs. The braided and bandaged boy practically tackled the fireman, crying out hoarsely. All three of them tumbled to the ground as Duo wrapped his arms around the still body, holding it tightly in his arms.  
  
Quatre took timid steps forward, barely believing his eyes.  
  
Duo wasn't hugging the body of Hilde.  
  
He was hugging the body of Heero.  
  
Heero dressed in Hilde's burnt and torn clothes, but Heero none the less.   
  
Hilde was no where to be found.  
  
end of chapter 15 


	16. the ending

And finally this fic is finished  
  
*Snow drops into her chair exshausted*  
  
i didn't realize it passed 100 pages... oi!  
  
hehehe, hope you guys like the ending!!  
  
------Snow Tigra  
  
Epilogue  
  
Dear Uncle,  
  
I hope you made it home safely. You surprised all of us having to leave so abruptly. So how is that empty and uneventful house of yours? I can't see how you can stand to live there, especially after all you saw here. Are you back to paging through your books now? What myth are you going to track down this time? Perhaps Pandora's box? I can't help but chuckle at the thought of trying to hunt down another myth… after all that has happened it just seems too… I don't know…  
  
Anticlimactic.  
  
I promised I would write when I found out everything, so here you are. You were right, everything went completely over without a hitch and now it seems all the problems are solved.   
  
The money you gave me has been put into an account and should take care of Heero's situation until he finds himself a job. He insists he'll pay you back for it and I think he honestly means it, besides he still has the ability to carve and build things like you wouldn't believe. I have no doubt he'll be able to pay you back for the money you leant him and Duo, given a little time.   
  
And you were also right in the case of Hilde. Her parents are no where to be found, least not as far as I can track down. I talked with Lucrenzia and she said that Hilde was an orphan who'd signed up for classes and stayed at her house just recently. The local police force thinks Hilde ran away… and I don't think I'm going to correct them any time soon.  
  
As for the part of the story we never heard? Well it seems that Hilde and Duo were the unfortunate victims of an arranged marriage between wealthy parents. Hilde had fallen for Duo but Duo wasn't happy. So who does Duo fall in love with? Heero, the hired carpenter and all around helper at the house. It sounds so much like the dime novel 'forbidden romance' it's hard to believe. They actually fell in love with each other and Hilde found out. She was so angry that she decided to burn down Heero's cabin with Heero in it. What she didn't know was that Duo was in the cabin at the same time and she ended up killing both of them by locking them in and burning it to the ground.   
  
You should see them together Uncle; I've never seen a happier couple. And now that they can be together again without any major complication… I swear that smile hasn't left his face! And I don't think it ever will.  
  
But then… you'll have to test that theory yourself.   
  
I'm not writing any more in this letter, Uncle.  
  
So if you want to know more you had better pack your bags and come back. Visit us again! We'd all love to see you now that things have returned back to normal. And you know you want to. Besides… you can't stay hidden in that house, behind your bookshelves forever.  
  
So get on that plane!  
  
----Quatre  
  
**  
  
Quatre set down his pen with a grin and stood up. He picked up the letter and ruffled through his things for an envelope, when another hand snatched it away from him.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Duo chuckled and ran over to the bed, dropping down to sit on it as his eyes scanned the paper.  
  
"Duo," Heero said in a mock scolding voice.  
  
"What? I just want to know what he said about us! I mean, gotta be careful. If we let things get out people'll start pounding at the door, asking about how they can find their soul mates." He snickered and then handed the paper back to Quatre.  
  
"Did it pass your inspection?" Quatre asked with a laugh as he folded the paper and placed it in the envelope.  
  
"Yep! Now come on! Or we're going to be late meeting up with Mari and Trowa!"  
  
Quatre shook his head and just sighed. Duo was certainly back to his old self.  
  
Quatre grabbed his coat then both boys helped Heero back onto his crutches, despite the large amount of grumbling from the Japanese boy. His legs were still badly burnt though and the doctor had insisted on him using crutches to lighten the stress on them. Both knew the grumbling was only half-hearted. In truth Heero was overjoyed to have his own body that didn't just exist in Duo's mind, and if he had to walk with crutches for a while well… it was certainly a very small price to pay.  
  
A taxi was waiting for them outside the door, ready to take them to the hospital where Trowa and his cousin were waiting. Duo and Quatre helped Heero into the front seat then they both sat in the back.  
  
As they drove Quatre leaned back in the seat and sighed softly. He could still feel the stitches across his forehead; he was scheduled to get them out in a week, thankfully. But his stitches weren't the main thought in his mind… instead he sat there quietly and watched with amusement as Duo chatted lively with Heero. He couldn't help but be amazed at those two.   
  
They figured that during the fire, Hilde's kiss had somehow taken Heero from Duo's body and placed it in her own. No one, honestly had any idea if that was actually how it worked, but they all did know that Heero now had his own body and Hilde had disappeared that day. So somehow there had been a switch, and Quatre couldn't help but wonder if in those last moments Hilde had noticed the truth and let Heero into her body.   
  
But whatever the case it was finally possible for the two lovers to be together and now no one would pull them apart. The two souls had survived and found each other. And Quatre knew that if they had any say in it, they would be together until the end of time.  
  
They arrived at the hospital and it was a relatively easy trip to Trowa's room, where they found everyone waiting.  
  
Trowa lay in his hospital bed; covered with more bandages then an Egyptian mummy, but the doctors said they would be removed soon enough. He'd been burned pretty badly in his own house and it would take years for his body to completely heal, but other then that he was doing fine. Not to mention that they'd just recently learned that his time in the hospital had been made quite enjoyable, thanks to a certain nurse whom now stood before them.  
  
Trowa smiled lightly and shifted in his bed, getting as close to sitting up as he could. Beside him, sitting in the chair was Marimeia. And standing off to the other side, in the light pink outfit of an assistant nurse was a beautiful young woman.  
  
"So Trowa, who's your girlfriend?" Duo asked with a bright grin.  
  
The girl's face immediately flushed red and she glanced down at the floor, her long blond curls slipping forward to cover her face. Quatre couldn't help but notice that most of her blond locks were pulled back into a loose braid that traveled part way down her back. Was it just his imagination or did she resemble Duo?  
  
"Guys, this is Middi Lawrence." Trowa said with a smile.  
  
Quatre smiled and shook her hand; Duo grinned and winked while Heero gave a polite nod of greeting.  
  
"And yes, Duo, she is."  
  
Duo blinked for a moment, processing what Trowa had said, then it hit him and he grinned brightly. "Now isn't that cheating? I mean it's her duty to take care of you and all…"  
  
"And I enjoy every minute of it," Middi said with a smile.  
  
Trowa smiled and Duo chuckled.  
  
Duo's face turned more serious for a moment and he stepped toward his adopted brother, clasping the boy's bandaged hand lightly in his own. "No, but honestly, I'm glad you found some one."  
  
Trowa returned his brother's understanding smile and nodded. "I'm glad for you too Duo."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Marimeia stood up from her place next to Trowa and crossed over to where Heero was standing and smiled at him. Leaning forward she placed a light kiss on his cheek.  
  
Heero blinked and stared at her in confusion.  
  
"Thanks," she said softly.  
  
"Thanks? For what?"  
  
"For pushing me out of the way before, into the swimming pool."  
  
Heero nodded and a small smile crossed his lips. "You're welcome."   
  
No one had explained to Trowa or Marimeia exactly who Heero was or what had happened to Hilde but no one really needed to, least not yet. At the moment it seemed that both of them understood it was a very long story. Perhaps sometime soon in the future it would be explained to both of them, but at the moment it wasn't of the utmost importance. What was, was that Duo was finally happy, and so it seems was every one else.  
  
But there was one last thing that remained to be done. At least in Marimeia's mind.  
  
Stepping up to Quatre, and without giving him much warning, she quickly kissed him. But this wasn't nearly as chaste as the one she'd given Heero's cheek, instead this was a full-fledged lips to lips kiss. And the others in the room could only stare and laugh as Quatre's eyes widened and his face reddened from the surprise.  
  
Marimeia pulled away a moment later with a smirk.  
  
"So, are you still going to play hard to get, Mr. Winner?"  
  
Quatre coughed lightly and adjusted the collar of his shirt in a nervous gesture, though a smirk grew across his face. "What fun would it be if I didn't make it a challenge for you?"  
  
"Friday night?"  
  
Quatre laughed and shook his head. "Yes. Friday night."  
  
"Whoa, Mari finally got a date with a decent guy," Duo remarked with a chuckle.  
  
"Duo!"  
  
"You had better watch out, Quatre, she's quite a handful."  
  
Quatre chuckled. "Mari's a handful? What about you Duo?"  
  
Heero smirked at that. "I can handle him."  
  
Smiling happily Duo wrapped his arms around Heero and grinned.  
  
Yes, Uncle, Quatre thought. It did all work out. And I think this lifetime they will get to be happy.  
  
owari  
  
the end :) 


End file.
